Increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis and changes in proapoptotic and antiapoptotic genes bax and bcl-2 during left ventricular adaptations to chronic pressure overload in the rat

Background-Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) represents both an adaptive response to increased cardiac work load and a precursor state of heart failure. Recent evidence linked cardiac myocyte death by apoptosis with LVH and heart failure. It remained unclear, however, whether apoptosis participated in the transition from LVH to left ventricular dysfunction (LVD).