Dose-dependent depression of cardiac function and metabolism by inhalation anesthetics in chronically instrumented dogs.

Halothane, methoxyflurane, and enflurane produce dose-dependent depression in ventricular function in the dog. Myocardial blood flow and oxygen consumption are decreased accordingly without evidence of myocardial tissue hypoxia. Low-dose fluoxene does not depress the heart, while there is less depression with high-dose fluroxene than with the other anesthetics. In spite of this depression, myocardial blood flow was unchanged, and the decreased oxygen consumption during high-dose fluroxene was a result of decreased oxygen extraction by the heart. Sympathetic nervous system stimulation produced by fluroxene anesthesia is probably responsible for these effects, but further work is necessary for confirmation of this hypothesis.