An experimental production of ventricular tachycardia by hyperosmotic solutions in dogs

Selective injections into the left anterior descending (LAD) and left circumflex (LCX) coronary arteries were separately performed in twenty dogs using various hyperosmotic solutions. Ventricular tachycardia (VT) was induced in all dogs studied, by injections of solutions having higher osmolality, whereas solutions with relatively lower osmolality did not produce VT. VT was induced in 100% of trials by injections of 30% saline into the LAD. Injections into the LCX of both 10% and 30% saline also elicited VT in 100%. The VT was produced under classic total cardiac denervation combined with intravenous propranolol (0.6 mg/kg) and atropine (0.15 mg/kg). Atrioventricular (A-V) block caused by surgical section of the distal part of the His bundle did not effectively block the production of VT. Reliability of this rather simple technique appears to provide us with a new experimental model.