Negative Inotropic Effects of Isoflurane and Halothane in Rabbit Papillary Muscles

The possibility that the negative inotropic effect of isoflurane is primarily due to a competitive inhibition of the influx of extracellular Ca2+ with little effect on the availability of Ca2+ stored intracellularly in the sarcoplasmic reticulum was examined in rabbit papillary muscle. The negative inotropic effect of isoflurane (1.4%) on steady state contractions (primarily dependent on the influx of extracellular Ca2+) was significantly greater than that on potentiated-state contractions (primarily dependent on Ca2+ released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum). In previous work from this laboratory we found that halothane has an opposite effect in this regard. Increasing stimulation frequency in the presence of isoproterenol (0.1, 1 μM) completely reversed the negative inotropic effect of isoflurane (1.4%) but not that of halothane (0.6%). These results suggest that isoflurane inhibits Ca2+ influx with little effect on the availability of activator Ca2+ stored in and released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum, and that the effect of isoflurane but not that of halothane can be effectively counteracted by conditions that are known to increase Ca2+ influx in the absence of an anesthetic. These properties of isoflurane may in part account for the minimal myocardial depressant effect of the anesthetic on the intact heart in the presence of a functional autonomic system.