A comparison of the effects of ketamine, chloral hydrate and pentobarbital sodium anesthesia on isolated rat hearts and cardiomyocytes.

The study was intended to investigate which commonly used anesthetic in intact animals has the least effect on the function of isolated hearts and cardiomyocytes among the anesthetized animals. The hearts of male Sprague-Dawley rats were removed after they were anesthetized with ketamine, chloral hydrate or pentobarbital sodium, respectively, or were cervically dislocated. They were mounted on a Langendorff shelf. Heart rate (HR), left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), and maximal rate of increase of left ventricular pressure (+dp/dt) were observed and recorded. Cell shorting amplitude and survival rate were detected in isolated cardiomyocytes. The application of ketamine and pentobarbital sodium led to a significant decrease in HR, LVSP and +dp/dt in isolated hearts. Furthermore, pentobarbital sodium inhibited cell shorting amplitude and reduced the survival rate of isolated cardiomyocytes. Chloral hydrate did not significantly alter HR, LVSP, +dp/dt, cell shorting amplitude and survival rate. The effects of anesthetics on cardiac parameters were considered when choosing an anesthesia administration. The results suggested that chloral hydrate as an anesthetic was appropriately applied for the studies of isolated hearts and cardiomyocytes.