Influence of nonuniformity on rate of left ventricular pressure fall in the dog.

We examined the influence of nonuniformity in regional ventricular function on the rate of left ventricular pressure fall in 10 anesthetized dogs. Ultrasonic segment gauges were implanted in the midwall of the anterior, lateral, and posterior left ventricle. In seven dogs, nonuniformity was produced by infusing isoproterenol (0.4 microgram/ml) into the mid-left anterior descending coronary artery at low flow (0.5 +/- 0.7 ml/min) and high flow (1.5 +/- 1.2 ml/min) rates, for total doses of 0.1 +/- 0.1 and 0.3 +/- 0.2 micrograms, respectively. This produced a dose-dependent increase in anterior segment shortening so that shortening was completed earlier and marked segment lengthening occurred during isovolumic relaxation. Lateral and posterior segments were not directly stimulated. The heart rate, left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, and peak systolic pressure remained constant. However, tau, the time constant of left ventricular pressure fall, increased from 32 +/- 8 to 37 +/- 10 ms with the low dose, and from 35 +/- 6 to 49 +/- 12 ms with the high dose of isoproterenol. Similar results occurred in two dogs when isoproterenol was infused into the proximal, mid, or distal left anterior descending and in three dogs with infusions in the left circumflex coronary artery. We conclude that nonuniformity of regional left ventricular function is an important and independent factor regulating the rate of pressure fall in the intact ejecting left ventricle.