Evaluation of pulsatile and nonpulsatile flow in capillaries of goat skeletal muscle using intravital microscopy

It is commonly believed that pulsatile flow generated by the pumping action of the heart is dampened out by the time it reaches the microcirculation. In clinical practice, most of the cardiopulmonary bypass pumps and ventricular assist devices are nonpulsatile. To test the hypothesis that pulsatile flow generated by the heart does exist at the microvascular level, intravital microscopy of a large animal model (goat) was developed to visualize and to videorecord the surface microcirculation of the flexor carpi ulnaris muscle from the right forelimb. Density of perfused capillaries and red blood cell velocity in capillaries were measured in five goats during pulsatile perfusion provided by the heart and during a subsequent 3-hr period of nonpulsatile perfusion provided by a centrifugal ventricular assist device (Centrimed, Sarns 3M) that bypassed the heart. Throughout the experiment, the heart rate, innominate artery mean blood pressure, and flow remained unchanged. During the pulsatile regimen, velocities showed regular fluctuations that coincided with the period of the cardiac cycle (range of periods: 0.5-0.8 sec). The peak velocity amplitudes (range: 0.25-0.55 mm/sec) correlated directly with the amplitude of the pulse pressure. During the nonpulsatile regimen, no such correlations were seen. During pulsatile flow and during the 3-hr nonpulsatile period, capillary density remained stable at 24 capillaries/mm of test line but there were significant increases in red cell velocity, from 0.8 to 1.2 mm/sec (P < 0.05), and in coefficient of variation of velocity (used as an index of flow heterogeneity), from 19 to 34% (P < 0.05). We conclude that (1) pulsatility exists in the capillary bed and that it directly correlates with the pumping action of the heart and (2) nonpulsatile flow produced by the ventricular assist device does not cause an acute deterioration in microvascular perfusion. We interpret the increase in heterogeneity of flow as an early sign of microvascular dysfunction. Prolonged use of the nonpulsatile device may, therefore, lead to deterioration in perfusion that could compromize the function of the organ.