Sodium addition and/or oxygen saturation of iohexol during normal and reduced perfusion pressure. Effects on contractile force and risk of ventricular fibrillation in the isolated rabbit heart.

The influence on contractile force (CF) and the propensity for ventricular fibrillation (VF) from infusing the non-ionic contrast medium iohexol during normal (75 cm H2O) and reduced perfusion pressure (35 cm H2O) were investigated in the isolated rabbit heart. Both during normal and reduced perfusion pressure iohexol (150 mg I/ml) with oxygen saturation caused a smaller reduction of CF than iohexol without oxygen. During reduced pressure iohexol with sodium addition (28 mM NaCl) caused less depression of CF than iohexol without sodium. The combination of sodium addition and oxygen saturation had the least influence on CF. Iohexol (350 mg I/ml) without sodium had a similar fibrillatory propensity during both normal and reduced pressure. Enriching iohexol with 28 mM NaCl decreased the risk of VF. The decrease was similar during both normal and reduced pressure. The risk of VF from oxygen saturation of iohexol (350 mg I/ml, without sodium) was similar during both normal and reduced pressure. It is concluded that a small addition of sodium and/or oxygen saturation of a non-ionic monomeric contrast medium have beneficial effects on the heart both during normal perfusion pressure and during ischemia.