Ca2+, histamine antagonists and relaxation to electrical impulses in dog coronary artery.

Isolated dog coronary arteries relax in response to electrical stimulation (0.1-8.0 Hz, 9 V, 1.0 ms) following contraction induced by serotonin. Cimetidine, metiamide and ranitidine inhibited this relaxation. The relaxation was not blocked by pyrilamine. Reducing the concentration of Ca+ (0.1 mM) decreased the rate of relaxation whereas relaxation was more rapid when the Ca2+ concentration was increased (3.2 mM). These results suggest that relaxation to electrical stimulation is modulated by Ca2+ and by the H2-subclass of histamine receptors.