Does acutely ischemic myocardium maintain contractile behavior and respond to inotropic agents in pig and dog models?
Acutely ischemic myocardium retains contractile behavior and responsiveness to inotropic agents, which can be quantified using force-velocity relationships.
Experiments were performed in pigs and dogs which showed that myocardium rendered acutely ischaemic by occluding the left anterior descending coronary artery nonetheless maintained contractile behaviour. The ischaemic myocardium responded to both positive and negative inotropic agents, and, despite aneurysmal dilatation during systole, was less distensible than at necropsy. These effects could be quantitated by application of force-velocity relationships.
Hood et al. (Tue,) studied this question.