Abstract
Summary
It has been demonstrated that exposure of isolated perfused rat hearts to glucose-free, hypoxic medium produces a marked decline in contractile force within 3 min. Hearts which were perfused with various concentrations of glucagon during the hypoxic period recovered better during reoxygenation than hearts not perfused with glucagon. This salutary effect of glucagon was apparently unrelated to this hormone's inotropic properties since the most sustained recovery was seen when the hearts were perfused with a subinotropic dose.
This evidence suggests that glucagon may exert a protective effect on the hypoxic myocardium.
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