The effect of acute elevation of blood pressure on myocardial performance during enflurane and enflurane with nitrous oxide anaesthesia in man.

Myocardial performance was assessed by a noninvasive method, when arterial pressure was raised acutely in eleven healthy subjects, awake and anaesthetized with equipotent (1 MAC) doses of either enflurane (Group 1) or enflurane with nitrous oxide 70 per cent. (Group 2). With anaesthesia, there was a significant and equal decrease in the indices of myocardial performance (p less than 0.05) in both groups with pressure elevation when compared to awake controls. The results are similar to those observed in subjects with depressed myocardial function due to either ischaemic heart disease or halothane anaesthesia.