Effect of varying coronary perfusion on ventricular function in isolated dog hearts

¹ Department of Physiology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York City

The effects of coronary perfusion on ventricular function have been studied in isolated ventricle preparations working under different conditions. Coronary flow, oxygen consumption, ventricular stroke work, rate of ventricular pressure change during isovolumetric contraction (dPC), and diastolic ventricular pressure (DVP_m) and pressure/inflow ratio were determined. Maintenance of coronary flow and oxygen consumption in 5 experiments did not prevent irreversible changes in DVP_m, stroke work, and dPC when the right ventricle was acutely overloaded. These ventricles did not accumulate water. Decreasing coronary perfusion pressure at constant arterial oxygen content in 11 experiments led to inconsistent changes in DVP_m, stroke work and dPC. Decreasing arterial oxygen content at constant coronary perfusion pressure in 10 experiments led to increased DVP_m but inconsistent changes in stroke work and dPC. There was an inverse relationship between DVP_m and oxygen consumption in the variable perfusion experiments, but not in the overloading experiments. Ventricular function did not change significantly with time in 6 experiments in which the conditions of workload and coronary perfusion were kept constant. It was concluded that irreversible changes in performance of acutely overloaded ventricles could be independent of coronary flow, myocardial water content, or duration of experiment.

Key Words: ventricular failure

Submitted on July 10, 1963