Attempts to Produce Acute Cardiac Failure by Posterior Pituitary Extracts

Abstract

Summary

An attempt was made to reduplicate clinical conditions in which a depressed left ventricle with a reduced coronary flow is required to work against high arterial pressures (a) by repeated or continuous infusions of posterior pituitary extracts, and (b) by creating additional arterizl resistance through cutting of afferent moderator nerves or mechanical compression of the aorta. In all of these ways it proved impossible over periods of 3 to 4 hours to induce a state comparable to clinical congestive heart failure. If such failure is secondary to left ventricular strain plus reduction of coronary flow and myocardial depression, the time element must play a dominant role.

Additional information regarding the nature of left ventricular depression induced by large doses of posterior pituitary extracts was obtained by an analysis of the aortic pressure pulses. Experimental evidence indicated that serious cardiac consequences are not apt to result from use of posterior pituitary preparations administered to patients with normal hearts in therapeutic doses.