[The effect of endotoxin on the cardiovascular system]

The dynamics of changes in myocardial contractility and pressure in the left ventricle of the heart and the femoral artery were studied in rabbits before and after intravenous infusion of 2 mg/kg endotoxin. The left ventricle was catheterized. The signal from the left-ventricular pressure transducer was fed into a microcomputer after analog-digital conversion for calculating the maximal rate of increase in intraventricular pressure. All the parameters studied began decreasing as early as the 5th minute after endotoxin administration. A statistically significant decrease (p less than 0.05) of the heart rate was recorded first on the 30th minute, than the left-ventricular pressure and maximal rate of intraventricular pressure increase took place on the 45th minute, and systolic and diastolic pressure in the femoral artery decreased on the 60th minute. The detected disorders of myocardial contractility provoke the appearance of hypotension the main role in the development of which is played by damage to the peripheral vascular network.