Summary
In intact anesthetized dogs left coronary artery blood flow determined by the 133 xenon wash-out technique was compared with coronary sinus outflow measured by a transvenously introduced cannulating electromagnetic flowprobe. 133 xenon was injected selectively into the left coronary artery and its myocardial wash-out detected by a precordial scintilltion counter. Coronary flow was determined over a wide range while increases of flow were produced by the administration of different drugs such as catecholamines, alpha-stimulators, coronary vasodilators and by volume loading.
Below a coronary sinus outflow of less than 100 ml/min, coronary flow estimated by the 133 xenon technique and corrected for the amount of perfused muscle mass was similar to the electromagnetically measured coronary sinus outflow. At a coronary sinus outflow above 100 ml/min, however, a progressive underestimation of 133 xenon flow was observed regardless whether flow was increased by primary coronary vasodilation or essentially by an increase of myocardial oxygen consumption with coronary venous oxygen saturations between 20 and 40%.
Thus, the application of the 133 xenon method for quantitation of coronary blood flow appears to be limited to low flow rates, whereas under conditions of increased flow the 133 xenon technique provides at best semiquantitative measurements of coronary blood flow.
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This work was supported by a grant of the Swiss National Science Foundation.
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Hirzel, H.O., Krayenbuehl, H.P. Validity of the 133 xenon method for measuring coronary blood flow. Pflugers Arch. 349, 159–169 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00586626
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00586626