No abstract

An abnormal systolic blood pressure response after physical exercise in patients with angina pectoris is indicative of severe myocardial ischemia during exercise and may be caused by an increase in stroke volume due to recovery from myocardial ischemia and increased systemic vascular resistance secondary to exaggerated sympathetic nervous activity.

Although pulmonary venous (PV) flow is closely related to left atrial (LA) pressure dynamics, few investigators have discussed it in relation to LA functions, i.e., reservoir, conduit, and booster pump functions. We examined changes in PV flow rate, LA dimension, and left ventricular filling volume in 11 dogs, and assessed the effects of multistaged volume loading on PV flow and LA functions. Systolic PV flow rate (S) increased significantly and reached a plateau, reflecting a limited LA reservoir function. Diastolic PV flow rate (D) increased significantly with an increase in LA pressure. S/D ratio increased non-significantly from 0.87 +/- 0.07 before volume loading to 0.96 +/- 0.08 until S reached a plateau and then decreased to 0.76 +/- 0.08 (p < 0.05) because of a significant increase in D without an increase in S at the higher stages of volume loading. During atrial contraction, increases in LA active shortening and left ventricular filling volume were limited, indicating a limited LA forward ejection. The difference between PV flow rate just before and at the end of atrial contraction increased and correlated positively with left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (r = 0.57, p < 0.01). PV flow varies according to the degree of volume loading and reflects LA functions, which exhibit limited increases in response to volume loading.

Tracheobronchial aspirates were obtained by bronchoscope from 29 two-year-old Thoroughbreds immediately after long-distance transportation for examination for cells and bacteria. A number of neutrophils were observed in the aspirates of 6 horses, and a number of different bacteria were isolated from most of the horses. Five of the 6 horses (83.3%) with numerous neutrophils showed a marked increase in rectal temperature (≥39.0°C) or peripheral leukocyte count (≥15,000 cells/µl) immediately after transportation, while only 2 of 23 horses (8.7%) with almost no change in neutrophil count showed a marked increase in peripheral leukocyte count (≥15,000 cells/µl). Results of this study indicate that measurement of rectum temperature and peripheral leukocyte counts after transportation can be used as a practical index for diagnosis of respiratory infectious disease associated with transportation.