Nitroglycerin infusion during infrarenal aortic cross-clamping in dogs: an experimental study.

The effects of an intravenous infusion of nitroglycerin on cardiac index and peripheral vascular resistance during infrarenal aortic cross-clamping were determined in normal animals and in animals subjected to low cardiac output state. Both groups of untreated animals demonstrated progressive fall in cardiac index with a rise in total peripheral resistance during infrarenal aortic cross-clamping. The infusion of nitroglycerin during the period of aortic cross-clamping prevented the increase in total peripheral resistance and therefore prevented the progressive fall in cardiac index that occurred in untreated animals. In the animals with depressed myocardial function, the infusion of nitroglycerin produced a 44% increase in cardiac index during aortic cross-clamping. The results of this study showed that the infusion of nitroglycerin during abdominal aortic cross-clamping can prevent adverse cardiovascular sequelae from occurring and should be used in patients undergoing abdominal aortic resection, especially those with impairment of left ventricular function.