Retrograde coronary flow is limited by time-varying elastance.

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The study examined the influence of left ventricular pressure (PLV) on coronary arterial flow and pressure. In eight anesthetized open-thorax goats with cannulated and artificially perfused left main coronary artery, the PLV was disturbed by aortic occlusions. In the constant pressure perfusion (CPP) protocol the response of systolic arterial inflow on a change in PLV was studied with fixed perfusion pressure and at several perfusion pressure levels. Similarly, in the constant flow perfusion (CFP) protocol the response of systolic perfusion pressure was examined with fixed levels of perfusion flow and repeated for several flow levels. The results show an early systolic response determined by PLV for both protocols. Midsystolic responses were almost absent in the CPP protocol but present in the CFP protocol. At CPP, the effect of a change of PLV on arterial flow in mid systole was only 20% of that on early systolic flow with intact coronary tone and 33% with adenosine-induced vasodilation. At CFP the pulsations in perfusion pressure were 30% of PLV pulsations, both with intact tone and vasodilation; in contrast with the CPP results, no difference for this value was found in different stages of systole. We suggest that stiffness of cardiac muscle determines the influence of PLV on coronary flow. The difference in mid systolic relations between the CPP and CFP protocols is explained by the difference in time constants induced by the perfusion system. The results are best explained by a synthesis between the intramyocardial pump model and the elastance concept.