AbstractAimsAcute decompensated heart failure (ADHF), a live‐threatening complication of heart failure (HF), associates a further decrease of the already by HF‐impaired cardiac function with an increase in heart rate. We evaluated, using a new model of ADHF, whether heart rate reduction (HRR) opposes the acute decompensation‐related aggravation of cardiovascular dysfunction.Methods and resultsCardiac output (echocardiography), cardiac tissue perfusion (magnetic resonance imaging), pulmonary wet weight, and in vitro coronary artery relaxation (Mulvany) were assessed 1 and 14 days after acute decompensation induced by salt‐loading (1.8 g/kg, PO) in rats with well‐established HF due to coronary ligation. HRR was induced by administration of the If current inhibitor S38844, 12 mg/kg PO twice daily for 2.5 days initiated 12 h or 6 days after salt‐loading (early or delayed treatment, respectively). After 24 h, salt‐loading resulted in acute decompensation, characterized by a reduction in cardiac output (HF: 130 ± 5 mL/min, ADHF: 105 ± 8 mL/min; P < 0.01), associated with a decreased myocardial perfusion (HF: 6.41 ± 0.53 mL/min/g, ADHF: 4.20 ± 0.11 mL/min/g; P < 0.01), a slight increase in pulmonary weight (HF: 1.68 ± 0.09 g, ADHF: 1.81 ± 0.15 g), and impaired coronary relaxation (HF: 55 ± 1% of pre‐contraction at acetylcholine 4.5 10−5 M, ADHF: 27 ± 7 %; P < 0.01). Fourteen days after salt‐loading, cardiac output only partially recovered (117 ± 5 mL/min; P < 0.05), while myocardial tissue perfusion (4.51 ± 0.44 mL/min; P < 0.01) and coronary relaxation (28 ± 4%; P < 0.01) remained impaired, but pulmonary weight further increased (2.06 ± 0.15 g, P < 0.05). Compared with untreated ADHF, HRR induced by S38844 improved cardiac output (125 ± 1 mL/min; P < 0.05), myocardial tissue perfusion (6.46 ± 0.42 mL/min/g; P < 0.01), and coronary relaxation (79 ± 2%; P < 0.01) as soon as 12 h after S38844 administration. These effects persisted beyond S38844 administration, illustrated by the improvements in cardiac output (130 ± 6 mL/min; P < 0.05), myocardial tissue perfusion (6.38 ± 0.48 mL/min/g; P < 0.01), and coronary relaxation (71 ± 4%; P < 0.01) at Day 14. S38844 did not modify pulmonary weight at Day 1 (1.78 ± 0.04 g) but tended to decrease pulmonary weight at Day 14 (1.80 ± 0.18 g). While delayed HRR induced by S38844 never improved cardiac function, early HRR rendered less prone to a second acute decompensation.ConclusionsIn a model mimicking human ADHF, early, but not delayed, transient HRR induced by the If current inhibitor S38844 opposes acute decompensation by preventing the decompensated‐related aggravation of cardiovascular dysfunction as well as the development of pulmonary congestion, and these protective effects persist beyond the transient treatment. Whether early transient HRR induced by If current inhibitors or other bradycardic agents, i.e. beta‐blockers, exerts beneficial effects in human ADHF warrants further investigation.