Effects of acute myocardial infarction on the circulation of the conscious rat.

This study was conducted to determine if experimental left coronary artery ligation resulting in a small myocardial infarction (MI, 15% of the left ventricle) affects the peripheral circulation in conscious rat during the first 48 h of recovery. At 24 or 48 h post-MI or sham surgery, animals were instrumented and evaluated using the radioactive microsphere technique. There were no overt central hemodynamic changes 24 h post-MI but at 48 h, left ventricular end diastolic pressure was significantly increased compared to the parallel control (MI: 5.9 +/- 0.6, sham 2.0 +/- 0.5 mm Hg, P less than 0.005). At 24 h post-MI, renal vascular resistance was increased and similar but non-significant changes occurred in the gut. At 48 h post-MI, vascular resistance in the skeletal muscle, spleen, gut and cutaneous circulations were significantly reduced compared to sham-operated rats. Similar changes at 24 h were seen in a separate group of conscious rats with MI which had previously undergone cardiac denervation suggesting that cardiac afferent activity was not directly responsible for the peripheral response to MI at 24 h. Denervation did eliminate the 48 h peripheral vasodilator response. In denervated animals, circulating renin levels were similar in MI and sham-operated rats and were unchanged between 24 and 48 h. Thus, small MI in conscious rat induces a sequela of effects on the peripheral circulation over 48 h. These changes are associated with cardiac afferent nerve activity but appear to be unrelated to plasma renin levels.