The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of hyperosmolality on the performance of, and the collateral blood flow to, ischemic myocardium. The myocardial response to mannitol, a hyperosmolar agent which remains extracellular, was evaluated in anesthetized dogs. Mannitol was infused into the aortic roots of 31 isovolumic hearts and of 15 dogs on right heart bypass, before and during ischemia. Myocardial ischemia was produced by temporary ligation of either the proximal or mid-left anterior descending coronary artery.
James T. Willerson, Wm. John Powell Jr., Timothy E. Guiney, James J. Stark, Charles A. Sanders, Alexander Leaf