Surgical implantation of cardiovascular devices in the thorax of the horse.
A surgical thoracotomy and implantation of an electromagnetic flow probe around the ascending aorta and catheters in the left ventricular (LV) apex of the horse were evaluated. Sixteen operations were done: 4 horses were used for acute experiments, 4 horses died from surgical manipulation, and 8 horses were studied chronically for 18 to 57 days. The electromagnetic flow probe allowed continuous measurement of stroke volume and heart rate. The LV apical catheters, in conjunction with thermal dilution techniques and pressure-sensitive devices, allowed measurement and calculation of mean arterial blood pressure, total peripheral vascular resistance, LV residual fraction, LV and diastolic volume, and LV end systolic volume.
D000818:Animals; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D005260:Female; D006736:Horses / Q000502:physiology / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D013903:Thoracic Surgery