High spinal cord section caused reduction of stroke volume, cardiac output, aortic pressure, and increase in heart rate. Peripheral resistance was little changed. With time, arterial pressure and heart rate recovered to near control levels; stroke volume, cardiac output, and peripheral resistance tended to increase. Recovery of arterial pressure was due either to increase in peripheral resistance or increase in cardiac output. Elimination of essentially all efferent sympathetic activity caused little or no decrease in peripheral resistance; the small decrease in arterial pressure was accounted for by decrease in stroke volume and cardiac output. Atropine given well after recovery from operation increased heart rate, cardiac output, and aortic pressure while stroke volume decreased. The increase in blood pressure was due to increased cardiac output. Tetraethylammonium chloride given after atropine showed that cardiovascular denervation was essentially complete. Induction of experimental renal hypertension caused marked rise in peripheral resistance without change in stroke volume, heart rate, and cardiac output. Since cardiovascular denervation was complete, the hypertension was of humoral origin.
Increased Cardiac Output as a Contributory Factor in Experimental Renal Hypertension in Dogs