[Prevention of disorders of cardiac muscle contractility developing after emotionally painful stress by gamma-hydroxybutyric acid and the antioxidant ionol].

Studies on contractile function of the papillar muscles of the rat heart after exposure to emotional pain stress gave evidence of a significant decrease in the amplitude, rates of contraction and relaxation and in the index of contraction. These disturbances of contractile function of the heart muscle can be prevented by pretreatment of the animals with the endogenous inhibitory metabolite, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, or by preliminary injection of the lipid hydroperoxidation inhibitor, antioxidant ionol--2,6-di(tret-butyl)-4-methylphenol.