Renal and iliac vascular responses to left ventricular receptor stimulation in conscious dogs

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relative responses of the renal and iliac vascular beds to the selective chemical stimulation of left ventricular receptors in the conscious dog. Twenty dogs were chronically instrumented to obtain measurements of arterial blood pressure, renal blood flow, and iliac blood flow before and after a bolus intracoronary injection of veratridine (0.4-1.0 micrograms/kg in 0.5-ml vol) with the heart paced. The responses to intracoronary veratridine were a significant reduction in arterial blood pressure averaging 25 mmHg accompanied by a simultaneous reduction in renal blood flow of 25%. Renal resistance did not change throughout the course of the response analyzed (50 s). Iliac blood flow, however, increased, reaching a peak of 35% above control due to a 51% decrease in iliac resistance. After sinoaortic denervation, renal resistance still failed to show a decrease, although the recovery of arterial blood pressure and iliac resistance was prolonged. After a mild hypotensive hemorrhage (20 ml/kg), a greater decrease in iliac resistance occurred with intracoronary veratridine injections, but renal resistance still did not change. The reduction in iliac resistance with intracoronary veratridine was significantly attenuated after phentolamine administration (2 mg/kg iv) but not after atropine alone (0.2 mg/kg iv). A significant cholinergic receptor component of iliac vasodilation was observed only after prior alpha-adrenergic-receptor blockade. The results of this study are consistent with the conclusion that in the conscious dog, left ventricular receptors exert a preferential neural control over skeletal muscle vascular resistance and do not influence renal vascular resistance.