Intracoronary adenosine enhances myocardial reactive hyperemia after brief coronary occlusion.

Adenosine is a prime candidate for the role of mediator between myocardial metabolic state and coronary blood flow. However, there are few reports concerning the direct effects of exogenously added adenosine on coronary autoregulation. The present investigation in the open-chest dog studied the effects of a threshold dose of intracoronary adenosine infusion on reactive hyperemia following brief coronary occlusions. The infused dose did not increase nonocclusive flow by greater than 10%. Adenosine enhanced total hyperemic flow at all occlusions tested (5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 s). Aminophylline pretreatment reduced reactive hyperemia below the control level even in the presence of an intracoronary infusion of adenosine. Adenosine injected into the left atrium and intracoronarily infused papaverine did not affect hyperemic response to 5- and 15-s coronary occlusions. The results suggest that a minimum dose of exogenously added adenosine enhances myocardial reactive hyperemia, possibly by potentiating the effects of endogenous adenosine released during ischemia.