Evidence and quantitation of left ventricular systolic resistance.

Instantaneous left ventricular pressure is a function of both volume (elastic behavior) and flow (resistive behavior). However, a quantitative description of ventricular resistance and its effects on ventricular performance remains to be elucidated. Accordingly, ventricular resistive behavior was studied in six isolated canine hearts. Our experimental findings indicate 1) for a specified time (ts), volume (Vs), and contractile state (CS), the ventricular pressure-flow relation was linear (r = 0.96-0.99) within the range of flows examined (0-250 ml/s); 2) ventricular resistance increased with increments in ts, Vs, and CS, whereas the zero-pressure flow intercept was invariant; 3) resistance could be uniquely quantified as a linear function of isovolumetric pressure. In six experiments, the slope of this relationship ranged from 1.1 to 2.1 X 10(-3) s/ml while the intercept did not differ from zero; and 4) end-systolic elastance, estimated from end-systolic pressure-volume data, was in substantial error under the conditions of finite (greater than 35 ml/s) end-systolic flows. Finally, the results from a computer simulation of the coupled ventricular-arterial system indicated that ventricular resistance primarily affects the pulsatile nature of aortic flow. The unique isovolumetric pressure-resistance relation suggests that the rate-limiting properties of the contractile process may be causally related to the observed ventricular resistive behavior.