SUMMARY. By measuring the absorbance change due to myoglobin oxygenation in hemoglobinfree isolated perfused rat hearts, we analyzed effects of perfusion pressure and heart rate upon the intracellular oxygen concentration. With Langendorff perfusion, the cardiac tissue was kept normoxic (above 50 ^M O 2 ) at aortic pressure above 50 cm H 2 O, but became hypoxic (8 /XM O 2 ) at 30 cm H 2 O. The increase in cardiac work, expressed as the product of peak systolic pressure and heart rate, increased oxygen consumption at aortic pressure of 50-200 cm H 2 O. The heart was kept normoxic under these conditions. Lactate release, oxygen consumption, and the oxidationreduction state of pyridine nucleotide were measured as a function of myoglobin oxygenation under various normoxic and anoxic conditions. Pyridine nucleotide fluorescence and lactate release started to increase as the intracellular oxygen concentration decreased to 6 and 10 ^M, respectively. Oxygen consumption was kept constant until the oxygen concentration decreased to 10 HM and slowed down below it. A close relationship between oxygen consumption and lactate release was observed. Infusions of epinephnne and norepinephrine under normoxic perfusion conditions increased cardiac work, oxygen consumption, and lactate release. More than 50% of myoglobin was then deoxygenated even under normoxic perfusion conditions. The increase in lactate release was ascribable to the increase in glycolytic flux caused by hypoxia. The change of pyridine nucleotide fluorescence by epinephrine was also explained by hypoxia in cardiac tissue. (Circ Res 53: 448-455, 1983)