George E. Eyster

Postischemic tissue injury by iron-mediated free radical lipid peroxidation

Cell damage initiated during ischemia matures during reperfusion. Mechanisms involved during reperfusion include the effects of arachidonic acid and its oxidative products prostaglandins and leukotrienes, reperfusion tissue calcium overloading, and damage to membranes by lipid peroxidation. Lipid peroxidation occurs by oxygen radical mechanisms that require a metal with more than one ionic state (transitional metal) for catalysis. We have shown that cellular iron is delocalized from the large molecules where it is normally stored to smaller chemical species during postischemic reperfusion. Postischemic lipid peroxidation is inhibited by the iron chelator deferoxamine. Intervention in the reperfusion injury of membranes by chelation of transitional metals is a new and promising therapeutic possibility for protection of the heart and brain.

Experimental Evaluation of Central Venous Pressure Monitoring in the Dog

The measurement of central venous pressure (CVP) will provide objective information about intravascular blood volume. Limitations exist with direct and indirect methods of measuring CVP; however, the purpose of this study was to determine if such factors as catheter size, patient position, or measurements taken with either a water manometer or a strain-gauge transducer would affect the accuracy of CVP measurements. The study population consisted of six adult, mixed-breed dogs. Catheter sizes evaluated were 16- and 19-gauge. Patient positions evaluated were right and left lateral recumbencies. Right atrial pressures (RAPs) were used as the reference standards for CVP measurements. Measurements of RAP and CVP were obtained with a water manometer and a strain-gauge transducer. No significant differences were observed in measured CVPs for the effects of catheter size and right versus left lateral recumbency. A 2.7-mmHg difference in water manometry was demonstrated when compared to strain-gauge transducer measurements. Also, strain-gauge transducer measurements had less precision compared to water manometer measurements.

Atrioventricular Nodal Ablation and His-Bundle Pacing:. An Acute Canine Model for Proarrhythmic Risk Assessment

Introduction: QT interval prolongation following drug exposure is considered a marker for increased risk of drug‐induced arrhythmias. QT interval measurements are common components of the safety pharmacology assessment of new therapeutic compounds but are potentially confounded by concurrent changes in heart rate that also alter QT intervals. We describe an anesthetized canine model of AV dissociation with His‐bundle pacing that overcomes the confounding effects of a change in heart rate.

Myocardial buffering capacity and high-energy phosphate utilization during hypothermic circulatory arrest and recovery in the newborn lamb in vivo

UNLABELLED The purpose of this study was to measure myocardial buffering capacity and adenosine triphosphate utilization rates in the newborn animal in vivo during hypothermic circulatory arrest and recovery. METHODS These studies were performed with 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopic techniques, which supplied a 12- to 16-second time resolution, to monitor intracellular pH and phosphocreatine and adenosine triphosphate levels. All experiments were performed with a radiofrequency surface coil on the pericardium with the sheep centered inside a 4.7 T magnet. Newborn sheep (n = 5, aged 16 days +/- 2.4 standard error) were supported by cardiopulmonary bypass, cooled to 20 degrees C, and subjected to 20 minutes of circulatory arrest. RESULTS During early ischemia, phosphocreatine hydrolysis progressed at a linear rate, 1.2 +/- 0.05 mumol/gm per minute, and was accompanied by intracellular alkalinization. Myocardial buffering capacity calculated from delta pH/delta phosphocreatine equals 25 +/- 3 mueq gm-1 delta pH-1, a value similar to that obtained from perfused heart studies. After the initial 4 minutes in ischemia, the decrease in phosphocreatine hydrolysis was accompanied by intracellular acidification, which is likely due to late induction of anaerobic metabolism. CONCLUSIONS In these studies, early phosphocreatine hydrolysis rate is nearly equivalent to adenosine triphosphate utilization rate. During the early period of ischemia phosphocreatine hydrolysis serves a buffering function and is associated with intracellular alkalinization. These techniques and measurements can be used to compare effects of myocardial preservation techniques on intracellular pH and adenosine triphosphate kinetics.

Challenges of Cardiopulmonary Bypass—A Review of the Veterinary Literature

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) has been used in veterinary medicine in experimental surgery and to address congenital and acquired diseases. We review the veterinary literature and expose common challenges of CPB in dogs and cats. Specifically, we describe the most specific elements of this technique in veterinary patients. The variety in animal size has made it difficult to standardize cannulation techniques, oxygenators, and priming volumes and solutions. The fact that one of the most common cardiovascular disorders, mitral valve disease, occurs predominantly in small dogs has limited the use of bypass in these patients because of the need for small, low prime oxygenators and pumps that have been unavailable until recently. Coagulation, hemostasis, and blood product availability have also represented important factors in the way CPB has developed over the years. The cost and the challenges in operating the bypass machine have represented substantial limitations in its broader use.

Congenital coronary-pulmonary arterial shunt in a German shepherd dog: diagnosis and surgical correction.

BACKGROUND A 10 week-old intact female German shepherd dog was examined because of a heart murmur. METHODS An echocardiogram revealed an extracardiac left-to-right shunt. An angiogram identified shunting between the aorta and the pulmonary artery in an unusual location. RESULTS Thoracotomy was performed to better identify and correct the lesion; a tubular shunt between the left coronary artery and the pulmonary artery was found and ligated in a closed-heart procedure. The murmur resolved immediately upon ligation and the dogs heart size normalized over a period of several months after surgery. CONCLUSION In the dog, surgical correction of a coronary artery-pulmonary artery shunt can be performed without complications and can be associated with reversal of cardiac remodeling.

Caudal vena cava kinking in dogs with ascites.

A 9-year-old dog with spontaneous ascites was found to have hepatic vein distension and a tortuous vena cava on abdominal ultrasound. In right lateral recumbency, the caudal vena cava crossed the diaphragm and became kinked before entering into the right atrium. Following this observation, we performed an experimental study in a normal dog to determine whether kinking of the caudal vena cava could be the result and not the cause of ascites. Ascites was induced using warm saline injected through a needle inserted into the abdominal cavity. Venograms were collected from different body positions, under four conditions: before and after a total of one, two and 3 liters of saline had been injected. Caudal vena cava kinking was observed in the experimental dog after 2 liters of fluid had been injected. Vena cava obstruction may cause ascites, but we found that sometimes caudal vena cava kinking can be the result and not the cause of the peritoneal effusion.