Plasma atrial peptide concentration during acute changes in cardiac filling pressure induced by a contrast agent

Left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and the concentration of atrial peptides in plasma were measured before and after the administration of contrast material into the left ventricle of 12 patients during cardiac catheterization. A positive relationship between changes in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure and the circulating level of atrial peptides was found in all 12 patients. Increases in plasma atrial peptide levels were detected within less than one minute after injection of the contrast agent. We conclude that the release of atrial peptides in the human is modulated rapidly by changes in atrial pressure. The rapid release of peptides from the atria in response to an increase in atrial pressure, coupled with evidence that atrial peptides reduce cardiac filling pressure, is consistent with the possibility that the atrial peptides may serve as part of a negative feedback system that enables the heart to influence its own filling pressure.