Reactivity of Cardiac Vessels and Reparative Processes Following Cardiac Infarction

It was stated that the human heart possesses a high vasomotor activity: in 1 to 3 minutes the coronary vessels may pass into a state of spasm or dilatation in such a manner that the volume flow may change up to 2 to 7 times. Apparently, this phenomenon discloses one of the mechanisms leading to prolonged spasm of the coronary arteries. Vasomotor activity of the heart is characterized by three types of rhythmic oscillations of vessels, which differ from one another in amplitude, form, and frequency. In some intoxications (dysentery, diphtheria, pneumococcal infection) and diseases, vasomotor activity tends to decrease, whereas in the subacute stage of cardiac infarction in man and in dog, in angina pectoris, in atherosclerosis of the coronary vessels, and in hypertensive disease, it seems to be compensatorily augmented. Two-phased or distorted reaction of heart vessels is determined not only by the atherosclerotic process but by neurohumoral influences of necrotic focus upon the metabolism in the heart and in the vascular wall. The most constant spasmolytic effect upon the vessels of the human heart was obtained by the administration of euphyllin and strophathin in low concentrations. It was demonstrated that, in addition to vitamins, hormones, aminoacids, and mineral salts, many other factors participate in the regulation of vascular tone. Acceleration of reparative processes in experimentally produced focal lesions of the heart was encountered after application of a complex treatment on animals with vitamins and aminoacids (B12, adenosinetriphosphate, methionine, and desoxyribonucleic acid).