Differences in myocardial stunning following coronary artery occlusion in conscious dogs, pigs, and baboons

To determine whether myocardial stunning differs among dogs, pigs, and baboons and is reproducible within species, we examined the effects of 10-min coronary artery (CA) occlusion (CAO) on 9 conscious dogs, 12 minipigs, and 6 baboons. During 10-min CAO, systolic wall thickening in the ischemic zone fell similarly in dogs (-108 +/- 5.6%), pigs (-102 +/- 1.8%), and baboons (-107 +/- 5.7%), but blood flow fell more (P < 0.05) in the subepicardium in pigs (0.07 +/- 0.01 ml . min(-1). g(-1)) and baboons (0.07 +/- 0.02 ml . min(-1). g(-1)) than in dogs (0.18 +/- 0.03 ml . min(-1). g(-1)). At 1 h after CA reperfusion (CAR), wall thickening was reduced more (P < 0.05) in dogs (-40 +/- 4.2%) than in pigs (-22 +/- 2.1%) and baboons (-4 +/- 2.4%). In five dogs and five pigs, three separate 10-min CAO, each 2 days apart, were also examined. In dogs, reductions in wall thickening after CAR were significantly less following the second (-26 +/- 4.2%) or third (-30 +/- 3.2%) CAO, compared with the first CAO (-47 +/- 4.9%). In contrast, repetitive CAO did not induce differences in recovery of wall thickening in pigs. These results indicate that myocardial stunning is less severe in conscious pigs and baboons, compared with conscious dogs, despite more intense transmural ischemia. The dogs demonstrated a ''preconditioning-like effect'' with serial brief CAO, which was not exhibited in pigs.