Apnea, tachypnea, and hypotension elicited by cardiac vagal afferents

The reflex effects of right and left ventricular distension, mediated by vagal afferents, were studied in mongrel dogs anesthetized with halothane or pentobarbital sodium on heart-lung bypass. Diaphragm electromyogram (D-EMG), systemic blood pressure, and left ventricular cardiogram were all measured during ventricular distension. After bilateral section of the stellate ganglia, distension of the left ventricle produced an apnea, or slowing of respiration and systemic hypotension, without a change in heart rate. A reflex decrease in the amplitude of the D-EMG occurred if the initial breathing rate was high; a decrease in frequency of the D-EMG bursts occurred if the initial rate was low. The left ventricular vagal afferents altering respiration had conduction velocities between 22 and 70 m/s, whereas those causing hypotension had conduction velocities less than 22 m/s. Distension of the right ventricle resulted in a significant tachypnea and systemic hypotension without a change in heart rate. The conduction velocities of the right ventricular vagal afferents causing both tachypnea and hypotension were less than 9 m/s. These reflex changes in respiration and blood pressure elicited by both right and left ventricular distension were eliminated with vagotomy.