Responses of Left Ventricle to Changes in Aortic Input Impedance : SYMPOSIUM ON THE INTERACTION BETWEEN THE HEART AND THE VESSELS

In order to evaluate how pressure and flow at the outlet of a ventricle are determined by the interaction between the ventricle and an aortic input impedance, we examined the effects of independent changes in the peripheral resistance and in the aortic compliance using isolated canine left ventricle preparations. There was an inverse linear relationship of mean values between pressure and cardiac output under pure resistance changes when coronary flow was maintained constant. But, when the coronary perfusion pressure depended on mean aortic pressure, the relationship was no longer linear under a critical aortic pressure. When aortic compliance was increased, late systolic flow was enhanced and late systolic pressure decreased such that the stroke volume increased. The top part of the pressure-volume loop showed a configurational change from the right side down to the left side down. Changes in pressure and flow wave forms, and in the pressure-volume loop can be predicted by an electrical model in which time varying capacitance arranged in series with the internal resistance was used as a ventricular model.