Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have latterly become one of the leading cause of death and impairment worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), data estimation in 2008 were about 17.3, 7.3 and 6.2 million death cases for CVDs, heart attacks, and strokes, respectively [1]. Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are important forms of CVDs affecting about 1% of the population. According to Dr. Ahmad Sallehuddin (Consultant and Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at HMC), CHD incidence in Qatar is about 6-8 in every 1,000 births and about 100 new patients with CHDs require surgery every year [4]. Both genetic and environmental factors were shown to contribute to CVDs. Human genetic studies are not sufficient alone to explain the genetic basis of CVDs due to disease heterogeneity, inconsistent penetrance, and predominantly a delayed onset of symptoms. Therefore, animal models are necessary to investigate and distinguish novel genes that contribute to the pathology of CVDs and also to unravel environmental factors that play role [5]. More recently, the Danio rerio (Zebrafish) has emerged to become an intriguing vertebral model in medical science research. This model has several advantages, such as an almost entirely sequenced genome that is highly preserved with humans: approximately 70% of the human genes are estimated to have orthologue genes in the zebrafish genome [2,8]. The features of the zebrafish over mammals as a vertebral model include its simplicity of genetic manipulation, a large quantity of offspring, and their external and fast development [5,8]. Transparency of zebrafish embryos provide precise observation of the heart beats, heart chambers and circulating blood in vivo via light microscopy [5]. Additionally, passive diffusion is sufficient for oxygen delivery during early stages of zebrafish
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