[Pathogenesis of acute heart failure following closed chest injury].

Experiments on 54 dogs with reproduced standard components of closed trauma (injury to the costal skeleton, lung contusion, associated with partial blood loss) have shown potential development of a standard cardiodynamic reaction that ended in acute heart insufficiency in part of cases. This reaction was characterized by a complex of signs including an increase in stroke volume, in maximal systolic pressure and in final diastolic pressure, in the right ventricle. These alterations developed in the presence of arterial hypoxemia and acidosis and correlated well with cardiodynamic disturbances.