Experimental Myocardial Infarction : 14. Accelerated Myocardial Stiffening Related to Coronary Reperfusion following Ischemia

In six dogs with surgically opened chests, segmental mechanical fonction was determined by measuring segment length using mercury-in-Silastic gauges attached to the epicardial surface of the left ventricular wall. Following coronary arterial occlusion the amplitude of the resulting paradoxical systolic bulge was quantitated in terms of ”muscle lengths,” defined as the ratio of the amplitude of the segment length over the end-diastolic segment length (EDSL). From an excursion of 0.176 ± 0.029 muscle lengths at six hours of ischemia, the amplitude of the bulge decreased abruptly to 0.125 ± 0.024 muscle lengths after 15 minutes of coronary reperfusion (P δedsl (P