Acute increase in reversal blood flow during counterpulsation is associated with vasoconstriction and changes in the aortic mechanics.

While the effects of increases in forward blood flow on the arterial diameter and elasticity are known, the effects of reversal flow on the arterial properties remain to be characterized. The intra-aortic balloon pumping (IABP), the device most frequently used in circulatory support, acts generating changes in aortic flow (i.e. increasing reversal flow). Recently, in vitro studies showed that flow reversion reduces the endothelial release of relaxing factors. Hence, vascular smooth muscle (VSM) dependent changes in the aortic properties would be expected during IABP. The aim was to analyze the changes in flow during IABP and to characterize the potential effects of reversal blood flow on the aortic biomechanics. Pressure, flow and diameter were measured in sheep, before and during IABP circulatory support. Potential effects of IABP-dependent high reversal flow conditions on viscous and elastic aortic modulus were analyzed, using isobaric analysis. Flow and pressure waveforms were analyzed in the time domain, and the contribution of oscillatory forward and backward waves to the IABP-dependent changes in flow patterns were evaluated. We found that IABP changed mainly diastolic blood flow, with an increase in the reversal flow, secondary to an increase in the oscillatory backward wave amplitude. The acute increase in reversal flow during IABP was associated with vasoconstriction and changes in the aortic mechanics, possibly due to VSM activation.