Effect of nitroglycerin on coronary collateral flow and pressure during acute coronary occlusion

Coronary collateral function was evaluated in 21 conscious, unsedated patients by measuring aortic and distal coronary pressures and great cardiac vein flow during transient (1 minute) balloon occlusion of the anterior descending artery in the course of coronary angioplasty. Measurements were made before and during administration of intravenous nitroglycerin (NTG). Clinical, electrocardiographic and hemodynamic events of transient myocardial ischemia occurred in 10 patients before and 6 patients during NTG administration (p = 0.11). The NTG infusion consistently decreased pressure determinants of myocardial oxygen demand without increasing heart rate. NTG also decreased a calculated coronary collateral resistance index in 13 patients. Responsiveness to NTG did not appear to depend on the presence or absence of collateral vessels detected by angiography or on any other angiographic variable assessed. Measurement of coronary collateral function during coronary angioplasty is a new technique with the potential to assess the ability of interventions to prevent transient myocardial ischemia and improve myocardial perfusion during acute coronary occlusion in humans.