The Effect of Prolonged Pentobarbital Anaesthesia on Cardiac Electrophysiology and Inotropy of the Dog Heart in Situ

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Abstract
The effect of prolonged pentobarbital anesthesia was tested on the dog heart in situ by means of His bundle electrography and programmed electrical stimulation, monophasic action potential recordings from the right ventricle and measurements of peak dp/dt [change in potential with time] obtained by Millar tip transducer in the left ventricle. Sixteen dogs were used. Immediately after catheterization during anesthesia, a slight decreased heart rate, a reduction in the conduction velocity and an increase in the functional refractory period of the atrioventricular node occurred. From 15 to 30 min after catheterization we observed no change in cardiac electrophysiology during the 8 h observation period. A slight decrease in contractility appeared towards the end of the period. Dogs anesthetized with pentobarbital could serve as a suitable model for testing drug effect on cardiac electrophysiology and contractility. The limitations of the model area are discussed.