Sympathetic influence on ventricular compliance

Intracisternal injections of veratrine in the anesthetized dog were used to study the effects of extreme sympathetic stimulation on left ventricular diastolic compliance. The results obtained were compared with those seen during volume expansion with whole blood, and after removal of both stellate ganglia. The injection of veratrine into the cisterna magna caused an increase in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) which was considerably larger than that which occurred in left ventricular end-diastolic circumferential (LVEDC) segment length suggesting a reduction in diastolic compliance. There were also increases in left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP) as well as its first derivative (LV dp/dt). Bilateral stellectomy during the veratrine response abruptly reduced LVEDP with a lesser decrease in LVEDC. Thus, the left ventricular compliance change was reversed. Both LVSP and LV dp/dt were decreased by stellectomy but remained above control levels. During transfusion, the pressure-length curve of the ventricle was located downward and to the right in comparison with the curve observed with intracisternal veratrine.