Animal studies are a foundation for defining mechanisms of atherosclerosis and potential targets of drugs to prevent lesion development or reverse the disease. In the current literature, it is common to see contradictions of outcomes in animal studies from different research groups, leading to the paucity of extrapolations of experimental findings into understanding the human disease. The purpose of this statement is to provide guidelines for development and execution of experimental design and interpretation in animal studies. Recommendations include the following: (1) animal model selection, with commentary on the fidelity of mimicking facets of the human disease; (2) experimental design and its impact on the interpretation of data; and (3) standard methods to enhance accuracy of measurements and characterization of atherosclerotic lesions.

动物研究是确定动脉粥样硬化的机制和预防病变发展或逆转疾病的潜在药物靶标的基础。在当前的文献中，通常会看到来自不同研究组的动物研究结果之间的矛盾，导致缺乏将实验结果外推到了解人类疾病的能力。本声明的目的是为动物研究中实验设计和解释的开发和执行提供指导。建议包括以下内容：（1）选择动物模型，并评述模拟人类疾病各个方面的逼真度；（2）实验设计及其对数据解释的影响；（3）提高动脉粥样硬化病变的测量和表征准确性的标准方法。