More problems for the coronary circulation in hypertrophy?

Upward shift of the lower range of coronary flow autoregulation in hypertensive patients with hypertrophy of the left ventricle

BACKGROUND

At any given perfusion pressure, coronary reserve is expressed by the difference between autoregulated and maximally vasodilated flow. In hypertension the raised coronary resistance reduces the steepness of the pressure-flow relationship at maximal vasodilatation. In the presence of cardiac hypertrophy the line of autoregulated flow becomes higher. For these reasons coronary reserve is reduced and the point at which baseline flow approaches the maximal achievable flow might be shifted to a higher perfusion pressure. Thus, any reduction below this elevated and critical value of pressure would lower the coronary flow.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The investigated patients were normotensive (controls, nine) and hypertensive with normal (group I, seven) or augmented LV mass index because of concentric LV hypertrophy (group II, eight). All had effort-induced angina and angiographically normal left epicardial branches. Flow in the great cardiac vein was measured by thermodilution in the baseline and during stepwise (5 mm Hg every 5 minutes) decrease of the coronary perfusion pressure with a titrated nitroprusside i.v. infusion; perfusion pressures of 60 mm Hg in the controls and 70 mm Hg in the hypertensives were taken as end points. Baseline flow averaged 102 ml/min in normotensives, 104 ml/min in hypertensive group I and 148 ml/min in hypertensive group II. At the end points flow was similar to baseline in the controls and group I. In group II coronary flow started to decline and myocardial O2 extraction started to slightly but significantly rise at perfusion pressures of 90-80 mm Hg; at the end point flow was reduced by 26% (p less than 0.01 from baseline). The perfusion patterns did not seem to be related to the changes in tension-time index and heart rate.

CONCLUSIONS

The association of high blood pressure (reduced ability of the coronary arterioles to dilate) and hypertrophy of the myocardium (augmented baseline coronary flow) may shift the point of exhaustion of coronary reserve to a higher perfusion pressure and make the myocardium vulnerable to treatment-induced relative hypertension.

Improved exercise capacity with acute aminophylline administration in patients with syndrome X

The efficacy of the adenosine receptor blocker aminophylline on exercise capacity in patients with effort ischemia and documented coronary artery disease has been previously documented. In this study the effect of aminophylline on effort electrocardiographic (ECG) alterations and chest pain was tested in eight patients with syndrome X (anginal chest pain on effort, ischemic ECG changes during exercise, positive dipyridamole test, normal epicardial coronary arteries on angiography and absence of coronary spasm after ergonovine). After double-blind, randomized intravenous infusion of aminophylline (6 mg/kg body weight over 15 min) or placebo (20 ml of saline solution over 15 min), the eight patients with syndrome X underwent an upright bicycle exercise stress test on 2 consecutive days. After aminophylline, there was an increase in effort tolerance (aminophylline 7.7 +/- 1.2 min of exercise versus placebo 5.6 +/- 0.9, p less than 0.01) paralleled by an increase of the rate-pressure product (mm Hg x beats/min x 1/100) at 0.1 mV of ST segment depression or at peak exercise (aminophylline 278 +/- 55 versus placebo 230 +/- 24, p less than 0.05). Aminophylline provoked the abolition of ECG signs of ischemia in all eight patients. Thus, at a dosage that should effectively inhibit adenosine receptors, aminophylline infusion exerts a beneficial effect on exercise-induced chest pain and ischemia-like ECG changes in syndrome X. This effect occurs possibly through the prevention of myocardial flow maldistribution elicited by inappropriate adenosine release during effort in the presence of increased coronary resistance at the level of small intramural coronary arteries. This study, however, does not document the ischemic nature of effort-induced pain and ECG alterations in syndrome X.

Exercise capacity after acute aminophylline administration in angina pectoris

Exercise-induced ischemia is generally attributed to an increase in myocardial demand in the presence of coronary stenosis limiting flow supply. An additional mechanism--the occurrence of coronary steal due to excessive endogenous adenosine release--has also been hypothesized. The effect of adenosine receptor blocking by aminophylline in effort ischemia was tested in 8 patients with stable effort-induced angina pectoris, reproducible positive exercise stress tests and angiographically assessed coronary artery disease. Following double-blind, randomized intravenous infusion of aminophylline (3 mg/kg over 3 minutes) or placebo (20 ml of saline over 3 minutes), the patients underwent upright bicycle exercise stress tests on 2 consecutive days. After aminophylline, there was an increase in work tolerance (aminophylline 7.5 +/- 1.8 minutes of exercise vs placebo 5.4 +/- 1.5 minutes; p less than 0.05). There was a parallel increase in the ischemic threshold, evaluated with the rate-pressure product (mm Hg X beats/min X 100(-2)) at 0.1 mV of ST-segment depression (221 +/- 35 vs 184 +/- 20; p less than 0.01). Thus, at a dosage that should effectively inhibit adenosine receptors, aminophylline infusion exerts a beneficial effect on exercise-induced ischemia, possibly through the prevention of myocardial flow maldistribution elicited by excessive adenosine release during effort.