Myocardial oxygen consumption and mechanical efficiency of a perfused dogfish heart preparation

Oxygen consumption of an in-pericardium heart preparation from the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias) was linearly related to cardiac power output. Basal oxygen consumption, predicted from the regression, was 0.127 microliters.s-1.g ventricle mass-1 and increased by 0.189 microliters.s-1.g ventricle mass-1 per milliwatt of power generated. From the relationship between cardiac power output and mechanical efficiency, mechanical efficiency was predicted to increase with cardiac power output to a maximum of 21%. Mechanical efficiency was measured during volume loading and pressure loading at two power outputs (50% and 72% of maximum power output). At 50% of maximum power output, mechanical efficiency increased significantly by 2.87%, from 11.9 +/- 0.3% to 14.8 +/- 0.5% (n = 7), when flow was halved and output pressure doubled to achieve the same power output. Similarly, at 72% of maximum power output, mechanical efficiency increased from 14.74 +/- 0.92% to 17.61 +/- 0.84% (n = 6) when flow was halved and output pressure doubled to generate the same higher level of power output. The increased mechanical efficiency at higher output pressures is believed to result from cardiac myocytes working within a length range where they are able to generate the most tension during contraction and are most efficient. We speculate that the loss of mechanical efficiency associated with large changes in sarcomere length, when stroke volume is large, is a driving force behind the use of frequency as the principal means of increasing cardiac output as observed in more active fishes, birds and mammals.