"Contractility" of the nonfailing hypertrophied heart

Cardiac function in the chronically volume-overloaded canine heart

In the chronically volume-overloaded canine heart due to AV-block evaluations of cardiac function were performed during the development of hypertrophy and at stable hypertrophy. In an early stage (1 and 2 weeks of AV-block) when no or only a slight increase of cardiac muscle occurred, contractility measured from dP/dtmax at comparable load is elevated, while later (10 weeks of AV-block) when stable hypertrophy is present, contractility becomes again normal, In the hypertrophied heart a non-depressed cardiac performance and contractility and functional reserve was established from insitu experiments and from evaluations in the isolated heart.

Cardiac performance in rats with renal hypertension

To evaluate cardiac performance in renal hypertension more precisely we determined cardiac function curves for 12 normotensive rats and 11 other rats with two-kidney Goldblatt hypertension. The hypertensive group (BP = 134 +/- 8 mm Hg) showed significant cardiac hypertrophy (44 +/- 1% increased ratio of heart weight to body weight, P less than 0.01) and markedly increased left ventricular stroke work with a moderate but not significant increase in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) (5.9 +/- 0.8 vs. 4.7 +/- 0.4 mm Hg). We evaluated cardiac function by recording left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, stroke volume (SV), and cardiac output (CO) (by electromagnetic flowmeter) during rapid alteration in venous return. Analysis of variations of stroke volume vs. left ventricular end-diastolic pressure showed that renal hypertension is accompanied by a significant decrease in ventricular performance [SV = 0.0190 + 0.0509 LVEDP - 0.0025 (LVEDP)2 + 0.0001 (LVEDP)3] compared to the normotensive group [SV = 0.0430 + 0.0644 LVEDP - 0.0040 (LVEDP)2 + 0.001 (LVEDP)3]. The alterations in stroke volume and cardiac output were associated with a lack of significant changes in the work performed at matched end-diastolic pressures. The data indicate that chronic renal hypertension is accompanied by a depression of cardiac reserve which is not revealed by measurements of cardiac output and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure at rest. This impairment in cardiac function might be related to either diminished cardiac contractility or reduced left ventricular compliance; the latter possibility is in accord with our finding of a 2-fold increase in the hydroxyproline content (P less than 0.001) and a significant decrease in the DNA concentration of ventricular tissue.

Left ventricular myocardial contractile response to aortic constriction in the hyperthyroid guinea pig

Maximum left ventricular systolic pressure response to aortic constriction served as a measure of myocardial contractility in anesthetized euthyroid and hyperthyroid guinea pigs. This response in hyperthyroid guinea pigs (155.4 ± 1.40 mm Hg) was significantly greater than in euthyroid animals (147.3 ± 1.33 mm Hg) ( P <.001) and developed at a lower end-diastolic pressure in hyperthyroid (11.27±0.418 mm Hg) than in euthyroid guinea pigs (14.15±0.521 mm Hg) ( P <.001). Beta-adrenergic receptor blockade with propranolol decreased the heart rate in both groups of animals but did not alter the contractile response. After propranolol, the heart rate of the hyperthyroid animals, though decreased, was still greater than that of euthyroid controls. Cardiac stimulation at a rate similar to that of the hyperthyroid animals (430 beats/min) did not change the left ventricular contractile response of normal guinea pigs. It is concluded that myocardial contractility in hyperthyroid guinea pigs is greater than normal. Increased activity of the sympathetic nervous system is probably present in hyperthyroidism, is reflected in the tachycardia, but does not appear to increase myocardial contractility. The increased myocardial contractility therefore is probably due in large part to a direct effect of thyroid hormone on cardiac muscle.