Cardiac function in open-chest dogs after left to right ventricular shunting and right coronary artery occlusion

Patients with acquired ventricular septal defect (VSD) after myocardial infarction have a particularly bad prognosis if right ventricular function is severely impaired. The significance of an ischaemic right ventricular free wall on cardiac function during interventricular shunting was examined in open-chest dogs. An external interventricular shunt could be opened and closed at will, and by occlusion of the right coronary artery (RCA), a part of the right ventricular free wall was rendered ischaemic. Aortic flow decreased by 8 +/- 2% when the shunt was opened in the presence of a normal right ventricle, and by 16 +/- 2% (difference: P less than 0.05) in the presence of right ventricular ischaemia. Aortic flow fell by 19 +/- 3% when the RCA was occluded. Right ventricular dyskinesia was demonstrated after occlusion of RCA, by recording segment lengths in the right ventricular free wall. The dyskinesia was aggravated when the shunt was opened. The left ventricle exerted a 'negative' work on the ischaemic right ventricular free wall. Retention of blood in the right ventricle, with a subsequent decline in left ventricular filling and an almost unchanged interventricular shunting of blood, explain why aortic flow fell more when the shunt was opened in the presence of right ventricular ischaemia.