Cardiogenic shock (CS) following myocardial infarction carries a high mortality risk despite advancements in management. The use of mechanical circulatory support in CS has become an effective strategy to improve haemodynamics and prevent acute kidney injury. However, the mechanism of how kidney function improves is unclear. We hypothesised that mechanical support would inhibit renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA), mediating renal protection in CS. Experiments were conducted in two groups of anaesthetised female sheep. In one group, CS was induced (n=8) using injections of polystyrene microspheres into the left coronary artery under fluoroscopic guidance. After a 30-minute baseline period (post -embolisation), intravenous phenylephrine infusion at incremental doses was used to assess the baroreflex control of RSNA before pump insertion. When the pressures recovered to baseline values, the circulatory assist Impella pump was inserted into the left ventricle and run randomly at different levels (P0 min-P6 max) with two minutes at each pump level. The controls underwent the same protocol without embolisation (n=6). Coronary artery embolisation resulted in a drop in mean arterial pressure (MAP) of 21 ± 4 mmHg compared to baseline values (n=8). This was associated with a 67% increase in renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA) from 16 ± 5 to 21 ± 5 spikes/s (p=0.038; n=7). Circulatory support using Impella significantly increased MAP from 55 ± 4 mmHg to 68 ± 5 mmHg at pump level P6 (one-way ANOVA, p<0.001). Incremental pump support resulted in a significant decrease in RSNA (p<0.001). At pump level P6, RSNA was decreased by 25 ± 5 % compared to P0 (p<0.001). Baroreflex curves predicted a 2% reduction in RSNA at P6 equivalent pressures in CS, which was significantly less than that observed with circulatory support (p=0.006). In the control cohort with no CS, the changes in MAP and RSNA from P0 to P6 were qualitatively similar to the CS cohort. MAP increased from 84 ± 9 to 94 ± 8 mmHg (one-way ANOVA, p<0.001) and RSNA decreased by 13 ± 5 % at P6 (one-way ANOVA, p<0.001). The expected reduction in RSNA with baroreflex assessment at equivalent pressures to P6 was 5% in controls, which was not significantly different to what was observed (p=0.065). Our data indicate that the use of Impella pumps in CS reduces RSNA, which may mediate improvements in kidney function. Interestingly, the renal sympathoinhibition with the Impella pump is greater than that with vasoactive agents alone. We gratefully acknowledge the granting support from Abiomed and the University of Auckland Faculty Research Development Fund. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.
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