Effects of the rise in aortic pressure on coronary flow reserve in dogs. Comparison between constriction of the descending thoracic aorta and injection of methoxamine.

In order to investigate the effect of a rise in aortic pressure on coronary flow reserve and also on the difference of its effect according to the methods used to raise aortic pressure, this experiment was performed. Using 7 anesthetized dogs with heart rate held constant by a pacemaker, both the resting and the peak reactive hyperemic left circumflex coronary flow were measured following raising of the aortic pressure by either descending thoracic aorta constriction or methoxamine injection. The resting and peak reactive hyperemic coronary flows both increased linearly following the rise in aortic pressure. The magnitude of the resting flow increment and the resting coronary vascular resistance following raising aortic pressure did not differ significantly between the two different methods. However, the magnitude of the peak hyperemic flow increment and the peak hyperemic coronary vascular resistance following raising aortic pressure were significantly smaller with methoxamine injection than with aortic constriction. These data indicate that coronary flow reserve increases proportionally with a rise in aortic pressure. However, the magnitude of the increment of coronary flow reserve is smaller following an alpha-adrenoceptor-mediated rise in aortic pressure, because the maximal coronary vasodilation was reduced by alpha-stimulated coronary vasoconstriction.