Abstract
Right and left ventricular function was assessed by observing the response to rapid blood volume expansion before and after extensive cauterization of the right ventricle in open chest dogs. In the control period, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure surpassed right ventricular end-diastolic pressure by an average of 11.5 mm Hg after volume expansion whereas, after destruction of the right ventricle, pressure in this chamber surpassed pressure in the left ventricle by an average of 4 mm Hg. In contrast, after left ventricular damage, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure averaged 25 mm Hg more than right ventricular end-diastolic pressure. Despite extensive damage to the right ventricular free wall, the right ventricle continued to generate a near normal pressure and aortic flow could be increased above control levels by volume expansion. We conclude that, in contrast to previous evidence, damage to the right ventricle produces a syndrome of predominant right ventricular dysfunction. However, cauterization of the entire free wall of the right ventricle does not reproduce the more profound right ventricular dysfunction noted in infarction of the right ventricle in man.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 254-258 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | The American Journal of Cardiology |
| Volume | 33 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1974 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:From the Hypertension and Clinical Hemodynamics Section, Veterans Administration Hospital, and the Department of Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D. C. This study was supported in part by Research Grant HL 09785 from the National Heart and Lung Institute, National institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. Manuscript accepted July 18, 1973. l Present address: Veterans Administration Hospital, Birmingham, Ala.