Abstract
Summary
Pressure-volume studies of the effect of inotropic agents on extensibility of the isolated cat heart are reported. In the beating heart, increased systolic pressure produced by these agents was associated with lowering of the end-diastolic pressure.
In the nonbeating heart, administration of inotropic agents did not result in any change in pressure-volume relationships. These results suggest that the changes in end-diastolic pressure noted in the beating heart were related to increased contractile force.
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