Stroke volume effect of changing arterial input impedance over selected frequency ranges.

We investigated the effect of changing arterial input impedance over three selected frequency ranges on stroke volume (SV) in nine isolated canine left ventricles. The input impedance was simulated with a three-element Windkessel model (i.e., resistance, characteristic impedance, and compliance) and was imposed on the ventricles with a servo-controlled loading system. Under a constant end-diastolic volume [33.1 +/- 1.5 (SE) ml], we changed the modulus of the afterloaded impedance over a low frequency range (below 0.13 Hz) by changing the resistance, over a transitional frequency range (in which the impedance modulus decreases from total resistance to characteristic impedance) by changing the compliance, and over a high frequency range (above 2.0 Hz) by changing the characteristic impedance. Each of the impedance components was changed from control to 50 and 200% of control. SV sensitively decreased from 16.1 +/- 0.7 to 7.4 +/- 0.5 ml in response to the increase in the low-frequency impedance modulus. SV was relatively insensitive, however, to the same percent increase in the impedance modulus over the transitional frequency range (from 11.2 +/- 0.6 to 12.3 +/- 0.7 ml) and over the high frequency range (from 11.9 +/- 0.6 to 11.6 +/- 0.7 ml). The average relative sensitivities of SV to the increase and decrease in impedance moduli in these frequency ranges were 1.2:0.12:0.04. We conclude that the modulus of impedance in the low frequency range is, by far, a more important determinant of SV than those in the transitional and high frequency ranges.