Parasympathetic control of transmural coronary blood flow in dogs

1985 ◽  
Vol 249 (2) ◽  
pp. H337-H343 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. V. Reid ◽  
B. R. Ito ◽  
A. H. Huang ◽  
C. W. Buffington ◽  
E. O. Feigl

The transmural distribution of coronary blood flow was studied during vagal stimulation in closed-chest, morphine- and alpha-chloralose-anesthetized dogs. The left main coronary artery was cannulated and perfused at constant pressure. Bradycardia during vagal stimulation was prevented by atrioventricular heart block and ventricular pacing. Beta-adrenergic receptors were blocked with propranolol (1 mg/kg iv), and aortic pressure was stabilized by means of a pressure reservoir. Regional myocardial blood flow was measured with 9-micron radioactive microspheres during vagal stimulation and during intracoronary acetylcholine infusion. Vagal stimulation increased coronary blood flow uniformly across the left ventricular wall. In contrast, intracoronary acetylcholine infusion, at a rate selected to increase total flow to the same degree, vasodilated the subendocardium more than the subepicardium, increasing the inner/outer blood flow ratio. It is concluded that both vagal activation and acetylcholine produce coronary vasodilation that is independent of left ventricular preload, afterload, and heart rate. Acetylcholine vasodilation preferentially vasodilates the subendocardium, increasing the inner/outer flow ratio, but vagal stimulation produces uniform vasodilation across the left ventricular wall.

Author(s):  
Nico Bruining ◽  
Eric Boersma ◽  
Dirk J. Duncker

This chapter describes the regulation of coronary blood flow. The left ventricle generates the systemic arterial blood pressure that is required to maintain coronary blood flow. The coronary circulation is unique among regional vascular beds in that its perfusion is impeded during the systolic phase of the cardiac cycle by the surrounding contracting cardiac muscle. Systolic contraction increases left ventricular wall tension and compresses the intramyocardial microvessels, thereby impeding coronary arterial inflow. This compression is not uniformly distributed across the left ventricular wall, resulting in a redistribution of blood flow from the subendocardium to subepicardium.


1988 ◽  
Vol 254 (2) ◽  
pp. H361-H368 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. J. Smolich ◽  
P. L. Weissberg ◽  
A. Broughton ◽  
P. I. Korner

We studied the effect of graded aortic blood pressure reduction on left ventricular (LV) blood flow in anesthetized, autonomically blocked, open-chest dogs at constant heart rate and mean left atrial pressure. Aortic diastolic pressure (ADP) was lowered from rest (average 116 mmHg) to 90, 75, and 60 mmHg with an arteriovenous fistula. Global and regional LV blood flow was measured with radioactive microspheres. Mean LV blood flow fell stepwise from 145 ml.min-1.100 g-1 at rest to 116 ml.min-1.100 g-1 at ADP of 60 mmHg, whereas the endocardial-to-epicardial flow ratio decreased from 1.20 to 0.84. The transmural redistribution of LV blood flow was not accompanied by increases in LV oxygen extraction, depression of LV contractility, LV dilatation or LV electrical dysfunction and also occurred in the presence of considerable coronary vasodilator flow reserve. Electrical evidence of subendocardial ischemia appeared at ADP of 32 mmHg and an endocardial-to-epicardial flow ratio of 0.41 in a subgroup of animals. We conclude that the redistribution of LV flow during moderate aortic pressure reduction was an appropriate physiological adjustment to uneven transmural alterations in regional LV wall stress and that it preceded a more pronounced redistribution evident with myocardial ischemia.


1977 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 479-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Nakamura ◽  
H. Matsuguchi ◽  
A. Mitsutake ◽  
Y. Kikuchi ◽  
A. Takeshita ◽  
...  

1978 ◽  
Vol 234 (6) ◽  
pp. H653-H659 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. R. Heyndrickx ◽  
H. Baig ◽  
P. Nellens ◽  
I. Leusen ◽  
M. C. Fishbein ◽  
...  

The effects of a 15-min coronary occlusion and subsequent reperfusion were investigated in conscious dogs previously instrumented for measurement of left ventricular pressure, dP/dt, regional wall thickening, electrograms, and myocardial blood flow. Coronary occlussion reduced overall left ventricular function only slightly but eliminated systolic wall thickening in the ischemic zone and reduced regional myocardial blood flow in the ischemic zone from 1.04 +/- 0.04 to 0.27 +/- 0.02 ml/min per g and the endo/epi flow ratio from 1.23 +/- 0.04 to 0.44 +/- 0.04, while S-T segment elevation increased from 1.1 +/- 0.3 to 8.2 +/- 0.9 mV. After release of the occlusion, S-T segment elevation disappeared within 1 min while reactive hyperemia in the previously occluded artery and a transient increase in cardiac diastolic wall thickness occurred and then subsided by 15 min. In contrast, systolic wall thickening and the endo/epi flow ratio remained significantly depressed for more than 3 h. Thus reperfusion after a 15 minute coronary occlusion results in a prolonged period of reduced regional myocardial blood flow, particularly in the endocardial layers, which correlates with the prolonged depression of regional myocardial shortening and wall thickening.


1990 ◽  
Vol 259 (2) ◽  
pp. H300-H308 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. W. Prinzen ◽  
C. H. Augustijn ◽  
T. Arts ◽  
M. A. Allessie ◽  
R. S. Reneman

Hearts of 11 anesthetized open-chest dogs were paced from the right atrium (RA), right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT), and left ventricular apex (LVA). Maps of the sequence of electrical activation (192 electrodes), fiber strain (video technique), and blood flow (microsphere technique) in the epicardial layers were obtained from a 15- to 20-cm2 area of the anterior left ventricular wall. Electrical asynchrony in this area was 10 +/- 5 (RA), 52 +/- 12 (RVOT), and 30 +/- 16 ms (LVA, mean +/- SD, P less than 0.05 for RVOT and LVA compared with RA). Epicardial fiber strain during the ejection phase was uniformly distributed during RA pacing. However, during ventricular pacing it ranged from 13 +/- 33% (RVOT) and 23 +/- 29% (LVA) of the value during RA pacing in early-activated regions to 268 +/- 127% (RVOT) and 250 +/- 130% (LVA) of this value in late-activated regions. Epicardial blood flow ranged from 81 +/- 22% (RVOT) and 79 +/- 23% (LVA) in early-activated regions to 142 +/- 42% (RVOT) and 126 +/- 22% (LVA) in late activated regions. In all above values P less than 0.05 compared with RA. During RVOT pacing, gradients of epicardial electrical activation time, fiber strain, and blood flow pointed in the same direction. Compared with RVOT pacing, during LVA pacing all gradients were opposite in direction, and the gradients of electrical activation time and blood flow appeared to be smaller. These results indicate that timing of electrical activation is an important determinant for the distribution of fiber strain and blood flow in the left ventricular wall.


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