Myocardial Oxygen Consumption and Coronary Blood Flow during Potassium‐Induced Cardiac Arrest and during Ventricular Fibrillation1

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.