Numerous pregnant women are exposed to ethanol. Given the marked cardiovascular changes induced by pregnancy and the known cardiac toxicity of ethanol, we conducted this study to explore the effects of pregnancy on the cardiac toxicity of ethanol. Isolated, perfused rat hearts obtained from pregnant and nonpregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to increasing doses of ethanol (0.1, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6%). Heart rate, changes in left ventricular pressure over time (dP/dt), left ventricular systolic pressure, and coronary artery flow rate were measured. Ethanol induced profound cardiac depression in all parameters. Pregnancy neither exacerbated nor attenuated this cardiac toxicity. In the isolated perfused rat heart model, pregnancy does not affect the cardiac toxicity of acute ethanol exposure.
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