title: [Pressure wave morphology and cardiovascular aging].
abstract: The effects of age, pre-load and heart rate on the juxta-aortic pressure wave form in an artificial ejection circuit were studied in 25 isolated perfused rat hearts beating at a controlled rate. The hearts were taken from male Wistar rats aged 4, 8, 12, 16 and 22 months. Each heart was submitted to 3 pre-loads by adjusting the level of left atrium perfusion to 15, 20, 25 cm H2O. Five different heart rates (300, 240, 198, 174 and 150/min) were imposed at each level of pre-load by pacing the interatrial septum after destroying the sinoatrial node. Age, increasing pre-load and bradycardia produced similar changes in the systolic part of the wave characterised by a delayed peak. The effects of these three factors were significant and independent and corresponded to significant changes of the harmonic composition of the pressure wave. In these three conditions, the amplitude of the first harmonic of the pressure increased significantly compared with the second, third and fourth harmonics. The predominance of the amplitude of the first harmonic is characteristic of pressure waves with delayed systolic summits . The linear character of the physical properties of the circuit was tested experimentally. A change in the wave form at a fixed rate is explained by a modification of ventricular ejection which is therefore necessarily present when pre-load is increased and the age of the heart varies. On the other hand, the effect of rate changes on the wave form are explained essentially by the interplay of different zones of the impedence curve of the circuit.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000818:Animals; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology; D006439:Hemodynamics; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D011312:Pressure; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
vernacular_title: Morphologie de l'onde de pression et vieillissement cardio-vasculaire.