Studies were performed to determine whether an alteration in coronary vascular resistance and a reduction in the reflow phenomenon occurred in the blood-perfused, heparinized canine heart after various periods of myocaridal ischemia. Regional myocardial blood flow was measured with radioactive microspheres. Proximal left anterior descending coronary artery blood flow was measured with a periarterial flow transducer. Reduced reflow to the ischemic portion of the left ventricle and increased resistance in the left anterior descending coronary artery were present after 120 minutes of myocardial ischemia. The reduction in reflow was specific to the subendocardium of the ischemic area. Saline and isosorbide dinitrate (Isordi) did not prevent the increase in coronary vascular resistance or the significant reduction in reflow to the subendocardial portion of the ischemic area. Hypertonic mannitol given so as to increase serum osmolality 40 mosmoles/kg prevented the increase in coronary vascular resistance and modified the reduction in the reflow phenomenon to the subendocardial portion of the ischemic area. Thus, both an increase in coronary vascular resistance and a significant reduction in reflow to the subendocardial portion of the ischemic area occur in the canine heart after 120 minutes of myocardial ischemia. Moreover, the increase in coronary vascular resistance can be prevented and the reduction in reflow to the subendocardial portion of the ischemic area can be modified by the administration of hypertonic mannitol.

Hindlimb hypokinesia was induced in rats by the Morey method to characterize the response of the soleus muscle. Rats suspended for 1-4 wk exhibited continuous and significant declines in soleus mass, function, and contractile duration. Soleus speeding was in part explained by an alteration in fiber type. The normal incidence of 70-90% type I fibers in the soleus muscle was reduced after 4 wk of suspension to 50% or less in 9 of 11 rats. A significant decline in type I myosin isozyme content occurred without a change in that of type II. Other observed histochemical changes were characteristic of denervation. Consistent with soleus atrophy, there was a significant increase in lysosomal (acid) protease activity. One week of recovery after a 2-wk suspension was characterized by a return to values not significantly different from control for muscle wet weights, peak contraction force, one-half relaxation time, and type I myosin. Persistent differences from control were observed in maximal rate of tension development, contraction time, and denervation-like changes.

We used biplane cinefluorgraphy to study the regional deformation and local contractile function of the canine right ventricular free wall (RVFW) among the inflow, midventricular, and outflow regions. For a region delimited by three neighboring markers, under the assumption of homogeneous deformation, we identified the magnitudes and directions of principal shortening or elongation and changes in area every 16.7 ms. Furthermore, we extended this approach to study the alterations of these parameters during RV afterload increase by applying pulmonary artery (PA) occlusion. Results show that, at both control and PA occlusion states, the outflow region was subjected to maximal fractional area reduction (AR) and maximal time rate of fractional area reduction (ARR) during systole, with no differences between inflow and midventricular regions (P less than 0.05). At the control state, the percent AR and the corresponding value for ARR were 27% and 179%/s at the outflow, 19% and 112%/s at the midventricular, and 15% and 107%/s at the inflow region, respectively. During PA occlusion, they became 21% and 115%/s at the outflow, 14% and 97%/s at the midventricular, and 15% and 102%/s at the inflow region, respectively. Statistically, only the outflow region deformation was affected by PA occlusion (P less than 0.05). For the control state, we also compared the direction of regional principal shortening at end systole to the local transmural myocardial fiber orientations. The directions were found to correspond closely to the mean of all local transmural fiber orientations. This suggests that the regional RVFW deformation we measured is the combined deformation behavior from all the local participating myofibers.

Chronic reduction of gravitational load in the rear limbs of rats to simulate the influence of near-zero gravity in skeletal muscles has been shown previously to elicit atrophy in the soleus muscle. Use of this model by the present investigation indicates that soleus atrophy was characterized by a decline in the number of fibers in groups that contained the slow isoenzyme of myosin and which were classified as type I from intensity of staining to myofibrillar actomyosin adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) and to NADH tetrazolium reductase. Furthermore total fiber number was not changed, whereas fibers containing the intermediate isoenzyme and those classified as type IIa increased. There results could be explained by either a change in the composition within existing fibers or a simultaneous loss of slow fibers and de novo synthesis of intermediate and fast fibers. Evidence for transformation included an absence of embryonic or neonatal myosin in muscles from suspended rats and the constant fiber number that was unchanged by 4 wk of suspension. Furthermore although fiber areas of both groups of type I and IIa fibers declined during suspension, variability of the fiber areas within each group did not increase.

The data from this study document that dobutamine is a powerful inotropic agent in anesthetized dogs with acute myocardial ischemia and in awake, unsedated ones with chronic myocardial infarction. Dobutamine significantly increases heart rate at relatively small doses in anesthetized dogs with acute myocardial ischemia but considerably larger amounts of dobutamine are required to significantly increase heart rate in awake, unsedated dogs with myocardial infarction. Dobutamine also significantly increases regional myocardial blood flow to all areas of the heart at 20mug/kg/min in both anesthetized dogs with acute myocardial ischemia and awake, unsedated ones with myocardial infarction. However, in anesthetized dogs 20mug/kg/min of dobutamine significantly increases epicardial ST-segment elevation during acute myocardial ischemia. Propranolol prevents the inotropic and chronotropic effects of dobutamine in both anesthetized and awake, unsedated dogs. This study suggests that during experimental acute myocardial ischemia dobutamine given at doses that significantly increase heart rate and contractility may increase the extent of myocardial damage. The data also suggest that this agent should be of value in the setting of severe myocardial depression without associated severe coronary artery disease to increase cardiac contractility at doses that do not markedly alter heart rate. The hemodynamic and coronary blood flow effects of dobutamine in patients with and without severe coronary artery disease should be evaluated.