Volume overload heart failure: length-tension curves, and response to beta-agonists, Ca2+, and glucagon.

Left ventricular force-generating capacity was determined in 19 anesthetized dogs with heart failure (HF) from aortocaval fistula. At the time of study all dogs had ascites, edema, and elevated pulmonary wedge pressure. Length-contractile force (CF) curves recorded from the left ventricle (LV) with a modified Walton-Brodie arch indicated that the LV was operating on the ascending limb of the length-CF curve at 62.4 +/- 0.1% Lmax in the normal group and in the HF group at 83.4 +/- 2.7% Lmax. In HF the length-CF curve was depressed when compared to normal and was further depressed when CF in grams was normalized for changes in LV wall thickness and expressed as g/cm2. Additionally, dose-response curves of CF in response to injected norepinephrine, isoproterenol, glucagon, and calcium were depressed when compared to the normal group while the response of heart rate and blood pressure was not different. These findings indicate that volume overload HF is associated with depressed ventricular muscle function and a depressed response to inotropic drugs.