How does myocardial oxygen consumption compare between potassium-induced cardiac arrest and ventricular fibrillation in a canine model?
Myocardial oxygen consumption is significantly lower during potassium-induced cardiac arrest compared to ventricular fibrillation, highlighting its importance for myocardial protection during cardiac surgery.
Summary. During perfusion of the left coronary artery from a donor dog's carotid artery, cardiac arrest and ventricular fibrillation were induced. Myocardial oxygen consumption, obtained as the product of coronary flow and coronary a‐v oxygen difference, was reduced during arrest to values below 3.5 ml/minute in 5 of the 6 dogs studied. During fibrillation the oxygen consumption was 4—9 times as high as during arrest. The importance of these findings for cardiac surgery is emphasized. The role of myocardial oxygen consumption in determining coronary flow is discussed.
Berglund et al. (Mon,) studied this question.