Collagen Fiber Structure Correlates With Mechanical Environment in Healing Myocardial Infarcts

Mechanics of healing myocardial infarcts are an important determinant of ventricular function. Large collagen fibers are the major contributors to the mechanical properties of healing scar. It has been suggested that an anisotropic structure, as observed in healing pig scars, may help preserve ventricular function, and that the alignment of collagen fibers could be guided by the regional mechanical environment in the infarct — in pig scars the alignment of collagen fibers was in the direction of greatest stretch [1]. By contrast, in the standard rat model of infarction we found that scars are structurally and mechanically isotropic at all time points in healing [2].