The aim of our study was to evaluate the effects of thromboxane A2 (TXA2) agonist, U-46619, on systemic circulatory parameters in the pigs before and after administration of a novel TXA2 receptor antagonist and synthase inhibitor (BM-573). Twelve anesthetized pigs were randomly assigned in two groups: in Ago group (n=6), the animals received six consecutive injections of U-46619 at 30 min inter...

BACKGROUND We hypothesized that longitudinal pulmonary arterial deformation during the cardiac cycle reflects pulmonary arterial capacitance. To examine this hypothesis, we assessed whether tissue Doppler-derived pulmonary annular motion could serve as a novel way to evaluate pulmonary arterial capacitance in pediatric patients with ventricular septal defect (VSD). METHODS In this prospective...

A modified heart-lung preparation of the rat, which permits measuring systolic and diastolic coronary flow separately and enables coronary compliance to be evaluated, is described. The systemic circulation was substituted by a shunt circuit, and the elastic properties of the arterial tree were mimicked by a rubber balloon. Systolic and diastolic coronary flow was evaluated from the pulmonary an...

UNLABELLED Changes in contraction and relaxation parameters during chronic electrical stimulation can exert profound effects on diastolic augmentation during skeletal muscle assistance (SMA) of the circulation, in both short and long term. The physiological properties of latissimus dorsi muscle (LD) performance in a system that mimics the clinical setting has not been adequately studied. OBJE...

Controversy exists about whether one-dimensional wave theory can explain the "self-canceling" waves that accompany the diastolic pressure decay and discharge of the arterial reservoir. Although it has been proposed that reservoir and wave effects be treated as separate phenomena, thus avoiding the issue of self-canceling waves, we have argued that reservoir effects are a phenomenological and ma...

Central blood pressure, i.e., the pressure near heart, is an important physiological indicator of cardiovascular function a patient. However, direct measurement this quantity rarely carried out due to invasive nature procedure. Instead, at arm (brachial artery) measured through inflatable cuff commonly used represent or estimate central pressure. On other hand, aortic propagates downstream in f...

This paper presents an experimental study of three bioreactor configurations. The bioreactor is intended to be used for the development of tissue-engineered heart valve substitutes. Therefore it must be able to reproduce physiological flow and pressure waveforms accurately. A detailed analysis of three bioreactor arrangements is presented using mathematical models based on the windkessel (WK) a...