Effect of nitroglycerin and ibuprofen on left ventricular topography and rupture threshold during healing after myocardial infarction in the dog.

The effect of nitroglycerin and ibuprofen, given between 2 and 7 days after left anterior descending coronary artery ligation, on the mechanical resistance of the infarcted left ventricle to rupture or the rupture threshold (balloon technique), and on topography (computerized planimetry) and function (two-dimensional echocardiography) at 7 days (n = 32) and 42 days (n = 34) postligation was studied in 66 dogs randomly allocated to sham (no infarction, n = 22) and infarction subgroups (15 controls; 15 received nitroglycerin, 30 mg oral isosorbide dinitrate b.i.d.; 14 received ibuprofen, 200 mg t.i.d. orally). Nitroglycerin decreased mean arterial and left atrial pressures, decreased diastolic cross-sectional area, and improved systolic function, while ibuprofen increased diastolic area. Infarction subgroups showed infarct shrinkage and more infarct hydroxyproline at 6 weeks. Compared with shams, all infarct subgroups showed early expansion and thinning, with further marked late thinning in controls. Nitroglycerin produced less expansion and thinning both at 1 and 6 weeks, while ibuprofen produced marked early thinning. Rupture threshold was less at 6 weeks than 1 week with controls and ibuprofen but remained unchanged with nitroglycerin. Passive prerupture stiffness was less at 6 weeks than at 1 week in controls but remained unchanged with nitroglycerin and ibuprofen. Thus, reduced expansion and thinning with nitroglycerin during the first week after infarction improved function, mechanical strength, and resistance to distension at 6 weeks.