Abstract
Summary
The relationship between left ventricular stroke work and left atrial pressure was studied in the Starling heart-lung preparation at various temperatures.
Cooling from 37° to 28.5°C consistently improved the performance. Warming from 37° to 42°C produced variable effects, but all hearts warmed to 44°C performed better than at 37°C.
We conclude that over a temperature range which is detrimental to the total physiology of most mammals the myocardium is not a limiting factor.
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