Atrial natriuretic factor release and natriuresis in rats with high-output heart failure

We investigated whether rats with high-output heart failure [aortocaval (AC) shunts] release atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) and excrete sodium after moderate volume expansion (VE) as do sham-operated controls. Mean arterial blood pressure was lower (92.5 +/- 4.4 vs. 114.0 +/- 1.3 mmHg) and relative heart weight was higher (545.6 +/- 35.1 vs. 253.8 +/- 9.8 mg/100 g body wt) in animals with AC shunts than in their controls. Central venous pressure (CVP) was elevated (3.61 +/- 0.36 vs. 0.37 +/- 0.94 mmHg) and heart rate decreased (332.5 +/- 8 vs. 370.0 +/- 9.9 beats/min) in AC rats. This group also presented lower basal urinary sodium excretion (UNaV), urinary volume, and hematocrit than their sham-operated controls. Basal plasma COOH- and NH2-terminal ANF levels were greatly elevated in AC shunt animals (165.43 +/- 55.73 and 1,692.98 +/- 305.63 fmol/ml, respectively) when compared with the controls (14.27 +/- 1.49 and 331.67 +/- 29.84 fmol/ml, respectively). VE was performed in conscious rats 3 times at 15-min intervals with human plasma protein fraction. The effect of VE on CVP, left-ventricular end-diastolic pressure, the increases in plasma COOH- and NH2-terminal ANF, and the diuretic and natriuretic responses were similar in both experimental groups. U(NA)V was positively correlated with plasma COOH- (r = 0.50, P less than 0.01) and NH2- (r = 0.60, P less than 0.001) terminal ANF only in the controls. One main peak of immunoreactive ANF corresponding to the elution time of a small peptide such as ANF-(99-126) was detected in the plasma of AC animals after VE. We conclude that ANF release and natriuresis are conserved after moderate VE in a rat model of moderate high-output experimental heart failure.