Project 458288

Heart failure is a debilitating, complex, and often terminal disease that effects over half a million Canadians. Despite decades of research, our understanding of a large category of heart failure cases remains poor, while afflicting half of all heart failure patients. Elderly women outnumber men by nearly two to one within this group, and there is presently no therapy that reliably reduces mortality. Only recently have advances in animal modelling of disease made it possible to study this form of heart failure accurately. This advance has highlighted drugs that alter metabolism as a therapy for this patient group. Many foundational questions as to the disease progression over time, the specific roles of sex and/or menopause, and the viability of drugs that target metabolism are yet to be evaluated. Longitudinal studies that track multiple aspects of the disease over a long period can provide valuable insight to address these questions. In particular, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) applied to the animal heart is an attractive tool. Through cutting edge imaging protocols, MRI can provide information beyond the mere structure of the heart, revealing changes in both the metabolism and blood supply of the heart muscle itself. When applied in combination with standard assessments of cardiac health, a comprehensive understanding of the disease can be unearthed. This work leverages the strength of MRI to establish a clear, sex specific disease trajectory, while also appraising the potential of a metabolic modulator as a therapy. This serves to expand our understanding of early diagnostic targets, establish new treatment options, and safeguard equitable treatment for the affected patient population.