Dependence of canine right coronary arterial flow upon heart rate and right ventricular pressure

There is a paucity of knowledge regarding right coronary pulsatile hemodynamics when the right ventricle is under hemodynamic overload as is often the case in pediatric patients with congenital cardiac anomalies. To elucidate the exact mechanisms for the right coronary artery (RCA) to cope with the overload, we studied nine open-chest adult Beagles and analyzed the flow signals of the RCA in relation to independently varied heart rate (pacing) and right ventricular pressure (pulmonary artery banding). Both increased heart rate and right ventricular pressure increased the total volume flow of the RCA. The diastolic over total flow ratio (D/T), however, enlarged on increasing right ventricular pressures while it declined on increasing heart rates. Our data confirmed, as well, that increased flow of RCA on rising heart rate was provided mainly by an increase in systolic phase, while the increase on augmented right ventricular pressure was provided by the increase in diastolic phase. The RCA manages to deliver blood to the right ventricular musculature in two different ways in response to increasing heart rate and right ventricular pressure.