Contractile force and resting tension in the presence of halothane and increased extracellular potassium or decreased extracellular pH in isolated guinea pig atria.

To gain a better understanding of the direct actions of halothane on myocardial function in ischaemia, we studied the effects of increasing extracellular potassium concentration and decreasing extracellular pH (acidosis), alone or in combination with halothane, on the contractile force and resting tension in isolated atria. Guinea pig left atria were superfused with Tyrode's solution and stimulated at 1 Hz. Isometric contractile force and resting tension were measured using a force displacement transducer. Perfusate potassium concentrations were increased from 5.4 mmol.L-1 to either 8.1 mmol.L-1 or 10.8 mmol.L-1 by adding KCl to the standard Tyrode's solution, and its pH was decreased from 7.4 to either 7.0 or 6.5 by decreasing bicarbonate. In standard Tyrode's solution (potassium 5.4 mmol.L-1, pH 7.4), halothane 0.5-2% reduced contractile force in a dose-dependent manner (P < 0.05); the effective concentration of halothane for 50% inhibition of contractile force (IC50) was 1.3%. Both increasing extracellular potassium and decreasing extracellular pH decreased the contractile force in a potassium- or pH-dependent fashion. The negative inotropism of halothane (1%) was not altered by increasing potassium concentrations, whereas 1% halothane caused a greater decrease in contractile force at pH 6.5 than at pH 7.4. Halothane (1%) enhanced the acidosis (pH 6.5)-induced increases in resting tension. Arrhythmias were produced in one of eight preparations during acidosis, while four of eight preparations demonstrated arrhythmias during acidosis in the presence of halothane. These data suggest that acidosis and halothane may have a synergistic interaction on the contractile force and resting tension of the atria.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)