Transmural gradients in myocardial metabolic rate.

To examine the 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG)-method for myocardial tissue, glucose uptake was measured directly and via the 2-DG-technique in 16 isolated perfused guinea pig hearts. A correlation (r = 0.7; p less than 0.01) between both methods was found. In the in situ working canine heart 2-DG revealed a 20% higher glucose uptake of the subendocardial layers as compared with the subepicardial. Blood flow to these layers, estimated by albumin aggregates, exceeded that to the subepicardial by 82%. Thoracotomy resulted in a homogeneous distribution of blood flow and tissue PO2, comparable to a homogeneous distribution of glucose uptake in isolated perfused hearts.