Changes in cardiac metabolism, perfusion, ECG and plasma catecholamines during increased intracranial pressure in the pig

Chronic hydrocephalus-induced changes in cerebral blood flow: mediation through cardiac effects

Decreased cerebral blood flow (CBF) in hydrocephalus is believed to be related to increased intracranial pressure (ICP), vascular compression as the result of enlarged ventricles, or impaired metabolic activity. Little attention has been given to the relationship between cardiac function and systemic blood flow in chronic hydrocephalus (CH). Using an experimental model of chronic obstructive hydrocephalus developed in our laboratory, we investigated the relationship between the duration and severity of hydrocephalus and cardiac output (CO), CBF, myocardial tissue perfusion (MTP), and peripheral blood flow (PBF). Blood flow measures were obtained using the microsphere injection method under controlled hemodynamic conditions in experimental CH (n=23) and surgical control (n=8) canines at baseline and at 2, 4, 8, 12, and 16 weeks. Cardiac output measures were made using the Swan-Ganz thermodilution method. Intracranial compliance (ICC) via cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) bolus removal and infusion, and oxygen delivery in CSF and prefrontal cortex (PFC) were also investigated. We observed an initial surgical effect relating to 30% CO reduction and approximately 50% decrease in CBF, MTP, and PBF in both groups 2 weeks postoperatively, which recovered in control animals but continued to decline further in CH animals at 16 weeks. Cerebral blood flow, which was positively correlated with CO (P=0.028), showed no significant relationship with either CSF volume or pressure. Decreased CBF correlated with oxygen deprivation in PFC (P=0.006). Cardiac output was inversely related with ventriculomegaly (P=0.019), but did not correlate with ICP. Decreased CO corresponded to increased ICC, as measured by CSF infusion (P=0.04). Our results suggest that CH may have more of an influence on CO and CBF in the chronic stage than in the early condition, which was dominated by surgical effect. The cause of this late deterioration of cardiac function in hydrocephalus is uncertain, but may reflect cardiac regulation secondary to physiologic response or brain injury. The relationship between cardiac function and CBF should be considered in the pathophysiology and clinical treatment of CH.

Cardiovascular response to blood loss during high intracranial pressure

The authors hypothesized that the combination of hemorrhage and increased intracranial pressure (ICP) has deleterious effects on cardiovascular function. The effect of blood loss during normal and increased ICP was studied in eight pigs. The mean arterial pressure (MAP), pulmonary arterial pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, cardiac output, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure were measured. The regional tissue blood flow was determined with radioactive microspheres labeled with four different nuclides. High ICP (80% of MAP) was induced by infusion of artificial CSF into the cisterna magna. The response to rapid arterial bleeding of 25% of blood volume was measured. The decrease in blood flow to the intestine, skeletal muscle, and the kidneys after blood loss was significantly greater during high ICP. The decrease in blood flow to the spleen and pancreas tended to be greater during high ICP, whereas the changes in blood flow to the liver, adrenal glands, and heart muscle showed no such tendency. The fall in cardiac output and heart stroke volume after blood loss were more pronounced when the ICP was high, and the increase in systemic vascular resistance was considerably greater. These observations suggest that during high ICP the physiological protective mechanisms against blood loss are impaired in the systemic circulation, and a loss of 25% of the blood volume, normally well compensated for, may induce a state of shock.