The Acute Effects of Pneumonectomy on Pulmonary Vascular Impedance in the Dog

Abstract

Pulmonary vascular impedance is a measure of the pulsatile characteristic of pressure and flow that occurs in the proximal pulmonary arteries. Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) is most influenced by the distal circulation of the lung. This study was performed to evaluate the changes that occurred in pulmonary vascular impedance, as well as in other hemodynamic variables, following pneumonectomy by a closed-chest method in 10 anesthetized dogs. The following observations were made (numbers compare mean values for the 10 dogs before and after pneumonectomy): (1) PVR increased from 447 to 761 dyne sec cm −5 ( p = .02); (2) the oscillatory work of the right ventricle increased from 1.23 to 1.76 J/min ( p = .006); (3) the mean pulmonary artery pressure increased from 14 to 18.8 mm Hg ( p = .0001); and (4) cardiac output and heart rate remained unchanged. Surprisingly, the estimated characteristic impedance (the impedance to oscillatory flow in the proximal bed) did not change significantly (279 to 296 dyne sec cm −5). This observation cannot be explained by the usual lumped compartmental models classically used to characterize the pulmonary vascular bed.