Loss of intermediate-sized coronary arteries and capillary proliferation after left ventricular failure in rats

To determine the adaptation of coronary vasculature and microvasculature to cardiac failure, renal hypertension was produced in rats, and the animals were killed 8 mo later when severe impairment in left ventricular function was present. By use of a new morphometric approach, it could be demonstrated that length densities of arteries from 6 to 20 microns in luminal diameter decreased by 23 and 26% in the midmyocardium and endomyocardium, respectively, whereas arteries ranging from 21 to 40 microns were reduced by 59, 55, and 46% in the outer, middle, and inner layers, respectively, of the left ventricular wall. In contrast, capillary density increased by 29 and 38% in the epimyocardium and endomyocardium, respectively. Capillary proliferation resulted in a 15% decrease in average diffusion distance for oxygen to the myocyte compartment of the tissue. Despite these opposite effects that may tend to compensate each other, the volume percent of collagen in the wall augmented by 106%. In conclusion, differences exist in the response of the coronary vascular tree to long-term renal hypertension that may impair coronary resistance and flow without affecting the capillary network and the oxygenation potential of muscle cells.