[Effect of exogenous catecholamines and pain action on the tissue respiration of the myocardium].

In vitro experiments employing the polarographic technique of in-rush currents have demonstrated that adrenalin and noradrenaline in concentrations approaching those found in blood of myocardial infarction patients during the early days of the disease inhibit the tissue respiration of the cardiac muscle by 10--50%. A 10-minute intensive pain stimulation was found to inhibit the aerobic processes in the myocardium by 20--24%. Hypercatecholaminemia observed in the acute period of myocardial infarction is suggested to play an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiac insufficiency during myocardial infarction, since it causes histotoxic hypoxia of the intact portions of the cardiac muscle. The importance of eliminating the pain syndrome in patients with myocardial infarction and angina pectoris is emphasized.