Is pentobarbital appropriate for basal anesthesia in the working rat heart model?

In the present study we have examined the effects of the general anesthetic agents for the excision of the heart on the hemodynamic function of the ischemic perfused heart. Animals were divided into three groups. In one group rats were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital intraperitoneally. Animals of the second and third groups were anesthetized with inhalation anesthetics, sevoflurane and isoflurane, respectively. The hearts were then rapidly excised and perfused by a working heart model. After control perfusion, whole-heart ischemia was induced by one-way aortic valve for 15 min followed by reperfusion for 30 min. During preischemic control period, cardiac output (CO) and left ventricular dP/dT maximum (LV dP/dT max) in the isoflurane group were significantly higher than those in the pentobarbital group. During reperfusion, CO and LV dP/dT max in the isoflurane and sevoflurane groups recovered more rapidly than those in the pentobarbital group. Although there were no significant differences in myocardial ATP and glycogen levels among the groups, myocardial lactate in the pentobarbital group was significantly higher than those in the sevoflurane and isoflurane groups. These results suggest that intraperitoneal pentobarbital anesthesia, administered prior to heart excision, may affect the performance of the ischemic perfused heart thereafter. Therefore, we would suggest that isolation of hearts by means of inhalation anesthesia is better than by means of pentobarbital in the working rat heart.