Objective: To determine biventricular cardiac function in pneumovirus-induced acute lung injury in spontaneously breathing mice.
Design: Experimental animal study.
Setting: Animal laboratory.
Subjects: C57Bl/6 mice.
Intervention: Mice were inoculated with the rodent pneumovirus, pneumonia virus of mice.
Measurements and main results: Pneumonia virus of mice-infected mice were studied for right and left ventricular function variables by high-field strength (7 Tesla) cardiac MRI at specific time points during the course of disease compared with baseline. One day before and at peak disease severity, pneumonia virus of mice-infected mice showed significant right and left ventricular systolic and diastolic volume changes, with a progressive decrease in stroke volume and ejection fraction. No evidence for viral myocarditis or viral presence in heart tissue was found.
Conclusions: These findings show adverse pulmonary-cardiac interaction in pneumovirus-induced acute lung injury, unrelated to direct virus-mediated effects on the heart.