The influence of cardiopulmonary receptors on long-term blood pressure control and plasma renin activity in conscious dogs

Abstract

The isolated and combined influence of cardiopulmonary and arterial baroreceptor denervation on long-term blood pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), plasma volume (PV) and plasma renin activity (PRA) was studied in 10 conscious, chronically instrumented foxhounds receiving a normal sodium diet. Cardiopulmonary denervation was achieved by surgically stripping both thoracic vagi. Near complete arterial baroreceptor denervation, leaving most cardiopulmonary fibres intact, was made by left vagal deafferentiation which has been shown to eliminate most aortic baroreceptor afferents, and a carotid sinus denervation. Five groups were studied: (I) control (n = 9), (II) cardiopulmonary denervation (n = 5), (III) aortic baroreceptor denervation (n = 5), (IV) arterial baroreceptor denervation (n = 4) and (V) total denervation (n = 6). No changes in PV were observed. Only group V revealed significantly higher levels of MAP (119.5 +/- 5.4 vs. 100.1 +/- 1.6 mmHg; P less than 0.05), HR (118.1 +/- 4.4 vs. 87.8 +/- 3.7 beats min-1; P less than 0.001) and PRA (3.0 +/- 0.8 vs. 0.9 +/- 0.2 ng AI m-1 h-1; P less than 0.05). It is suggested that the isolated function of either cardiopulmonary or arterial baroreceptors is sufficient to maintain these variables at a normal level. Contrary to the results of other reports the cardiopulmonary receptors do not seem to regulate MAP at a level about which the arterial baroreceptors operate. When both groups of afferents were interrupted MAP, HR and PRA rose to significantly higher levels, implying that cardiopulmonary and arterial baroreceptor afferents interact in a sense of a non-additive attenuation.