Functional recovery of stunned myocardium is greater with halothane than fentanyl anaesthesia in dogs.

We have compared the effects of halothane or fentanyl on recovery of regional myocardial function in the postischaemic ventricle in dogs. The animals were followed for 120 min during reperfusion after 15-min of occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. After 120 min of reperfusion, the fentanyl group had recovered only 54% and 50% of regional contractility and systolic shortening (P < 0.05), respectively, compared with halothane (63% and 86%). Intramyocardial tissue pressure was less than baseline 60 min after reperfusion in the fentanyl group (P < 0.05), whereas the halothane group had returned to control values. We conclude that halothane is more effective than fentanyl in attenuating regional myocardial dysfunction associated with transient episodes of ischaemia.