Effect of atrial natriuretic factor on transmural myocardial blood flow distribution in the dog.

These studies were designed to define the effect of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) on coronary flow. ANP was infused as a bolus directly into the left circumflex coronary artery in doses ranging from 0.05 to 5 micrograms in nine open-chest, anesthetized dogs. Coronary flow was measured with an electromagnetic flowmeter. Regional transmural myocardial blood flow and distribution were measured with 11.3 +/- 0.25 micron radionuclide-labeled microspheres. No significant change was noted in systemic hemodynamics (heart rate, arterial pressure, left atrial pressure, or cardiac output) during the course of the studies. ANP produced a transient vasodilatation of coronary resistance vessels and increased flow by 41% after both the 2.5 and 5 micrograms doses. The vasodilatation occurred uniformly throughout the ventricular wall so that the endocardial/epicardial flow ratio remained constant. There was no evidence of coronary vasoconstriction. The peak vasodilatation response occurred 28 +/- 7 sec after the beginning of the infusion of ANP and lasted approximately 3 min. These data support the hypothesis that ANP administration is associated with a vasodilator response in the coronary resistance vessels that may be modulated through either the release of another vasodilator substance or another mechanism.