Oxygen delivery, oxygen consumption and hemoglobin-oxygen affinity in acute myocardial infarction

The interrelations of oxygen delivery (DO2), oxygen consumption (VO2) and hemoglobin-oxygen affinity assessed by P50 were investigated in 43 patients with acute myocardial infarction. As DO2 declined due to low cardiac output, a significant decrease in VO2 (r = 0.75, p less than 0.001) and a significant increase in P50 (r = -0.74, p less than 0.001) were observed. In the DO2 range between 300 and 450 ml/min/m2, in which the DO2 of 32 survivors and 11 nonsurvivors overlapped, the P50 of nonsurvivors was significantly higher than that of survivors (31.5 +/- 1.6 vs 27.9 +/- 1.5 torr, p less than 0.001), but there were no significant differences in any other oxygen transport variable. As a result of differences in P50, VO2 in this range was significantly higher in nonsurvivors compared to survivors (169 +/- 17 vs 148 +/- 13 ml/min/m2, p less than 0.001). These data suggest that a normal or increased VO2 alone does not ensure survival in patients with acute myocardial infarction, and increased P50 leads to an increase in VO2. Nevertheless, the interpretation of an increased P50 in patients with acute myocardial infarction must be made with caution, even with adequate DO2 and VO2, because it may imply a precarious oxygen transport/requirement balance in peripheral tissue and, hence, a fatal outcome.