Regional blood flow and cardiac output during acute hypoxia in the anesthetized dog

¹ Departments of Medicine, Physiology, and Obstetrics, University of California Medical Center, Los Angeles, California

The circulatory effects of breathing low concentrations of oxygen were studied in ten anesthetized dogs. Simultaneous measurements were made of cardiac output (indicator dilution technique) and blood flow to the head, kidney, and hind limb (electromagnetic flowmeters). Four experiments were performed with the addition of succinylcholine to inhibit the ventilatory response to hypoxia and maintain pCO₂ constant. A rise in cardiac output and mean arterial pressure occurred which was significantly correlated to the decrease in arterial oxygen saturation. No threshold for these responses was found. Blood flow tended to increase during hypoxia in the regions studied but the responses were variable and only the change in renal blood flow had a significant correlation to arterial oxygen unsaturation. Systemic and regional vascular resistances during hypoxia varied both in direction and magnitude of change. The preponderant effects of hypoxia influence cardiac output more than peripheral vascular resistance.