Heart rate-independent energetics and systolic pressure-volume area in dog heart.

Left ventricular (LV) systolic pressure-volume area (PVA), a new measure of total mechanical energy for the contraction, linearly correlates with its oxygen consumption per beat (VO2) regardless of contraction mode in a canine heart with stable chronotropism and inotropism. PVA is the area in the pressure-volume (PV) diagram circumscribed by the end-systolic and end-diastolic PV relation curves and the systolic segment of the PV loop and has dimensions of energy. We investigated whether primary changes in heart rate would affect the VO2-PVA relation. In the excised cross-circulated canine heart with left ventricular load controlled with a servo pump, we changed heart rate by pacing to compare the VO2-PVA relations at low [124 +/- 17 (SD) min-1] and high (193 +/- 23) heart rates. In 15 left ventricles, VO2 (ml O2 X beat-1 X 100 g LV-1) was (1.75 +/- 0.57) X 10(-5) PVA (mmHg X ml X beat-1 X 100 g LV-1) + 0.031 +/- 0.011 (ml O2 X beat-1 X 100 g LV-1). The VO2-PVA relation was virtually independent of heart rate in individual hearts. We conclude that the load-independent VO2-PVA relationship is not affected by chronotropism in a given canine left ventricle.