O2 consumption of dog heart under decreased coronary perfusion and propranolol

We compared the effects of decreased coronary perfusion pressure (CP) and propranolol on the relation between left ventricular O2 consumption (VO2) and systolic pressure-volume area (PVA). PVA represents total mechanical energy generated by contraction and is the area under the end-systolic pressure-volume (PV) line and systolic PV trajectory. In excised cross-circulated dog hearts, a decrease in CP from 82 (mean) to 51 mmHg decreased ventricular contractility index Emax (slope of end-systolic PV relation) by 17% (P less than 0.05) and slightly (P less than 0.05 in 3 of 11 hearts) lowered the VO2-PVA relation in a parallel fashion. A further decrease in CP to 32 mmHg decreased Emax by 56% (P less than 0.05) and considerably (P less than 0.05) lowered the VO2-PVA relation by decreasing both the VO2-axis intercept by 26% (P less than 0.05) and the slope by 24% (P less than 0.05) from control. Propranolol decreased Emax by 48% (P less than 0.05) and the VO2-axis intercept by 25% (P less than 0.05) without changing the slope (P greater than 0.05). We attributed the different response of the VO2-PVA relation to the difference of the coronary O2 supply-demand balance between decreased CP and propranolol.