Phasic right coronary artery blood flow in conscious dogs with normal and elevated right ventricular pressures. (1/8389)

We studied phasic right coronary blood flow in well trained normal dogs and dogs with pulmonic stenosis. We installed electromagnetic flow transducers and pressure tubes under anesthesia to monitor right coronary blood flow, cardiac output, central aortic blood pressure, and right ventribular pressure. In normotensive dogs, systolic flow amplitude equaled early diastolic flow levels. The ratio of systolic to diastolic flow at rest was substantially greater in the right coronary bed (36+/-1.3%) than in the left circumflex bed (13+/-3.6%). Right diastolid flow runoff, including the cove late in diastole, resembled left circumflex runoff. Blood flow to the normotensive right (37+/-1.1 ml/min 100(-1) g) and the left (35+/-1.0 ml/min(-1) g) ventricular myocardium indicated equal perfusion of both cardiac walls. Throttling of systolic flow was related directly to the right ventricular systolic pressure level in the dogs with pulmonic stenosis. Retrograde systolic flow occurred in severe right ventricular hypertension. The late diastolic runoff pattern in dogs with pulmonic stenosis appeared the same as for the normotensive dogs. We obtained systolic to diastolic flow ratios of 1/3 the value of normotensive hearts in high and severe pulmonic hypertension. Electrocardiograms and studies of pathology suggested restricted blood flow to the inner layers of the right myocardium in the dogs with severe and high right ventricular hypertension. Normotensive and hypertensive peak hyperemic flow responses were similar, except for an increased magnitude of diastolic flow, with proportionately less systolic flow in hypertensive states.  (+info)

The effect of cardiac contraction on collateral resistance in the canine heart. (2/8389)

We determined whether the coronary collateral vessels develop an increased resistance to blood flow during systole as does the cognate vascular bed. Collateral resistance was estimated by measuring retrograde flow rate from a distal branch of the left anterior descending coronary artery while the main left coronary artery was perfused at a constant pressure. Retrograde flow rate was measured before and during vagal arrest. We found that in 10 dogs the prolonged diastole experienced when the heart was stopped caused no significant change in the retrograde flow rate, which indicated that systole has little effect on the collateral resistance. However, when left ventricular end-diastolic pressure was altered by changing afterload or contractility, a direct relationship between end-diastolic pressure and collateral resistance was noted.  (+info)

Variations in 35SO4 incorporation into glycosaminoglycans along canine coronary arteries. A possible index of artery wall stress. (3/8389)

Focal areas of accentuated wall stress along the course of canine coronary arteries may be revealed by the level of 35SO4 incorporation into glycosaminoglycans (GAG). In the anterior descending artery, 35SO4 incorporation in higher in the proximal than in the distal region and may be extraordinarily high as the vessel enters a proximally located muscle bridge and at the takeoff region of multidirectional branches. In the circumflex artery, the incorporation also is higher in the proximal than in the distal region and is high at the genu where the posterior descending artery forms. There are differences in uptake of 35SO4 in vessels even when the arteries arise from the same vascular bed.this was shown by the higher incorporation in the left coronary artery than in the right coronary artery. A general anatomical agreement exists between these sites of high 35SO4 incorporation and previously described locations of interval elastic disruption ans proliferation of intimal connective tissue in the dog.  (+info)

Site of myocardial infarction. A determinant of the cardiovascular changes induced in the cat by coronary occlusion. (4/8389)

The influence of site of acute myocardial infarction on heart rate, blood pressure, cardiac output, total peripheral resistance (TPR), cardiac rhythm, and mortality was determined in 58 anesthetized cats by occlusion of either the left anterior descending (LAD), left circumflex or right coronary artery. LAD occlusion resulted in immediate decrease in cardiac output, heart rate, and blood pressure, an increase in TPR, and cardiac rhythm changes including premature ventricular beats, ventricular tachycardia, and occasionally ventricular fibrillation. The decrease in cardiac output and increase in TPR persisted in the cats surviving a ventricular arrhythmia. In contrast, right coronary occlusion resulted in a considerably smaller decrease in cardiac output. TPR did not increase, atrioventricular condition disturbances were common, and sinus bradycardia and hypotension persisted in the cats recovering from an arrhythmia. Left circumflex ligation resulted in cardiovascular changes intermediate between those produced by occlusion of the LAD or the right coronary artery. Mortality was similar in each of the three groups. We studied the coronary artery anatomy in 12 cats. In 10, the blood supply to the sinus node was from the right coronary artery and in 2, from the left circumflex coronary artery. The atrioventricular node artery arose from the right in 9 cats, and from the left circumflex in 3. The right coronary artery was dominant in 9 cats and the left in 3. In conclusion, the site of experimental coronary occlusion in cats is a major determinant of the hemodynamic and cardiac rhythm changes occurring after acute myocardial infarction. The cardiovascular responses evoked by ligation are related in part to the anatomical distribution of the occluded artery.  (+info)

Inhibition of endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization by endothelial prostanoids in guinea-pig coronary artery. (5/8389)

1. In smooth muscle of the circumflex coronary artery of guinea-pig, acetylcholine (ACh, 10(-6) M) produced an endothelium-dependent hyperpolarization consisting of two components. An initial component that occurs in the presence of ACh and a slow component that developed after ACh had been withdrawn. Each component of the hyperpolarization was accompanied by an increase in membrane conductance. 2. Indomethacin (5 x 10(-6) M) or diclofenac (10(-6) M), both inhibitors of cyclooxygenase, abolished only the slow hyperpolarization. The initial hyperpolarization was not inhibited by diclofenac nor by nitroarginine, an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase. 3. Both components of the ACh-induced hyperpolarization were abolished in the presence of atropine (10(-6) M) or high-K solution ([K+]0 = 29.4 mM). 4. The interval between ACh-stimulation required to generate an initial hyperpolarization of reproducible amplitude was 20 min or greater, but it was reduced to less than 5 min after inhibiting cyclooxygenase activity. Conditioning stimulation of the artery with substance P (10(-7) M) also caused a long duration (about 20 min) inhibition of the ACh-response. 5. The amplitude of the hyperpolarization generated by Y-26763, a K+-channel opener, was reproducible within 10 min after withdrawal of ACh. 6. Exogenously applied prostacyclin (PGI2) hyperpolarized the membrane and reduced membrane resistance in concentrations over 2.8 x 10(-9)M. 7. At concentrations below threshold for hyperpolarization and when no alteration of membrane resistance occurred, PGI2 inhibited the initial component of the ACh-induced hyperpolarization. 8. It is concluded that endothelial prostanoids, possibly PGI2, have an inhibitory action on the release of endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor.  (+info)

A comparison of an A1 adenosine receptor agonist (CVT-510) with diltiazem for slowing of AV nodal conduction in guinea-pig. (6/8389)

1. The purpose of this study was to compare the pharmacological properties (i.e. the AV nodal depressant, vasodilator, and inotropic effects) of two AV nodal blocking agents belonging to different drug classes; a novel A1 adenosine receptor (A1 receptor) agonist, N-(3(R)-tetrahydrofuranyl)-6-aminopurine riboside (CVT-510), and the prototypical calcium channel blocker diltiazem. 2. In the atrial-paced isolated heart, CVT-510 was approximately 5 fold more potent to prolong the stimulus-to-His bundle (S-H interval), a measure of slowing AV nodal conduction (EC50 = 41 nM) than to increase coronary conductance (EC50 = 200 nM). At concentrations of CVT-510 (40 nM) and diltiazem (1 microM) that caused equal prolongation of S-H interval (approximately 10 ms), diltiazem, but not CVT-510, significantly reduced left ventricular developed pressure (LVP) and markedly increased coronary conductance. CVT-510 shortened atrial (EC50 = 73 nM) but not the ventricular monophasic action potentials (MAP). 3. In atrial-paced anaesthetized guinea-pigs, intravenous infusions of CVT-510 and diltiazem caused nearly equal prolongations of P-R interval. However, diltiazem, but not CVT-510, significantly reduced mean arterial blood pressure. 4. Both CVT-510 and diltiazem prolonged S-H interval, i.e., slowed AV nodal conduction. However, the A1 receptor-selective agonist CVT-510 did so without causing the negative inotropic, vasodilator, and hypotensive effects associated with diltiazem. Because CVT-510 did not affect the ventricular action potential, it is unlikely that this agonist will have a proarrythmic action in ventricular myocardium.  (+info)

Acetylcholine-induced relaxation in blood vessels from endothelial nitric oxide synthase knockout mice. (7/8389)

1. Isometric tension was recorded in isolated rings of aorta, carotid, coronary and mesenteric arteries taken from endothelial nitric oxide synthase knockout mice (eNOS(-/-) mice) and the corresponding wild-type strain (eNOS(+/+) mice). The membrane potential of smooth muscle cells was measured in coronary arteries with intracellular microelectrodes. 2. In the isolated aorta, carotid and coronary arteries from the eNOS(+/+) mice, acetylcholine induced an endothelium-dependent relaxation which was inhibited by N(omega)-L-nitro-arginine. In contrast, in the mesenteric arteries, the inhibition of the cholinergic relaxation required the combination of N(omega)-L-nitro-arginine and indomethacin. 3. The isolated aorta, carotid and coronary arteries from the eNOS(-/-) mice did not relax in response to acetylcholine. However, acetylcholine produced an indomethacin-sensitive relaxation in the mesenteric artery from eNOS(-/-) mice. 4. The resting membrane potential of smooth muscle cells from isolated coronary arteries was significantly less negative in the eNOS(-/-) mice (-64.8 +/- 1.8 mV, n = 20 and -58.4 +/- 1.9 mV, n = 17, for eNOS(+/+) and eNOS(-/-) mice, respectively). In both strains, acetylcholine, bradykinin and substance P did not induce endothelium-dependent hyperpolarizations whereas cromakalim consistently produced hyperpolarizations (- 7.9 +/- 1.1 mV, n = 8 and -13.8 +/- 2.6 mV, n = 4, for eNOS(+/+) and eNOS(-/-) mice, respectively). 5. These findings demonstrate that in the blood vessels studied: (1) in the eNOS(+/+) mice, the endothelium-dependent relaxations to acetylcholine involve either NO or the combination of NO plus a product of cyclo-oxygenase but not EDHF; (2) in the eNOS(-/-) mice, NO-dependent responses and EDHF-like responses were not observed. In the mesenteric arteries acetylcholine releases a cyclo-oxygenase derivative.  (+info)

In-stent neointimal proliferation correlates with the amount of residual plaque burden outside the stent: an intravascular ultrasound study. (8/8389)

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between residual plaque burden after coronary stent implantation and the development of late in-stent neointimal proliferation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Between January 1996 and May 1997, 50 patients underwent intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) interrogation at 6+/-1.2 months after coronary stent implantation in native coronary arteries. IVUS images were acquired with a motorized pullback, and cross-sectional measurements were performed within the stents at 1-mm intervals. The following measurements were obtained: (1) lumen area (LA), (2) stent area (SA), (3) area delimited by the external elastic membrane (EEMA), (4) percent neointimal area calculated as (SA-LA/SA)x100, and (5) percent residual plaque area calculated as (EEMA-SA)/EEMAx100. Volume measurements within the stented segments were calculated by applying Simpson's rule. In the pooled data analysis of 876 cross sections, linear regression showed a significant positive correlation between percent residual plaque area and percent neointimal area (r=0.50, y= 45.03+0.29x, P<0.01). There was significant incremental increase in mean percent neointimal area for stepwise increase in percent residual plaque area. Mean percent neointimal area was 16.3+/-10.3% for lesions with a percent residual plaque area of <50% and 27.7+/-11% for lesions with a percent residual plaque area of >/=50% (P<0.001). The volumetric analysis showed that the percent residual plaque volume was significantly greater in restenotic lesions compared with nonrestenotic lesions (58.7+/-4.3% versus 51.4+/-5.7%, respectively; P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Late in-stent neointimal proliferation has a direct correlation with the amount of residual plaque burden after coronary stent implantation, supporting the hypothesis that plaque removal before stent implantation may reduce restenosis.  (+info)