The effect of left ventricular bypass on the right ventricular function: experimental analysis of the effects of ischemic injuries to the right ventricular free wall and interventricular septum.

The right ventricular (RV) function during left heart bypass (LHB) was examined in open-chest anesthetized mongrel dogs (average weight, 11.8 kg). The LHB was carried out by a left ventricle (LV) to femoral artery bypass using a centrifugal pump for 90 min, and the bypass flow was kept maximum to obtain almost complete decompression of the LV. The RV function was evaluated by hemodynamic parameters and pressure-dimension (sonomicrometry) relationship at pre-LHB (control) and 30, 60, and 90 min after LHB (LHB-30, LHB-60, and LHB-90). The materials were divided into three groups after LHB-30: intact heart (group 1, n = 5), RV free wall ischemia (group 2, n = 5), and interventricular septum (IVS) ischemia group (group 3, n = 8). No significant changes in mean right atrial pressure (mRAP), RV end-diastolic pressure (RVEDP), RV maximum derivative pressure, or RV fractional shortening (RVFS) were found between pre-LHB and post-LHB in groups 1 and 2. On the contrary, group 3 showed significant increases in mRAP and RVEDP, and a decrease in RVFS at LHB-90 compared to both pre-LHB and LHB-30. The RV end-systolic dimension (percentage of pre-LHB) showed significant increases at LHB-90 compared to LHB-30 in groups 2 and 3. These results indicate that the LHB itself does not depress the RV function in the intact heart and in the RV free wall ischemic heart, while the impairment of the IVS during LHB appears to lead to RV dysfunction.