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Science 16 June 1972:
Vol. 176. no. 4040, pp. 1250 - 1252
DOI: 10.1126/science.176.4040.1250
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Articles

Possible Mechanism for the Antiarrhythmic Effect of Helium in Anesthetized Dogs

Lawrence Raymond 1, Richard B. Weiskopf 1, Michael J. Halsey 1, Alan Goldfien 1, Edmond I. Eger III 1, and John W. Severinghaus 1

1 Cardiovascular Research Institute and Departments of Medicine, Anesthesia and Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California, San Francisco 94122

Breathing a mixture of 75 percent helium and 25 percent oxygen instead of 75 percent nitrogen and 25 percent oxygen reduced the occurrence of dangerous cardiac arrhythmias after ligation of the circumflex coronary artery in open-chest dogs anesthetized with pentobarbital. In dogs not subjected to circumflex ligation, the sensitivity of blood pressure, heart rate, and extrasystoles to epinephrine injected intravenously was not altered by the substitution of helium for nitrogen; however, helium did reduce the baseline heart rate and the concentration of endogenous plasma catecholamines. The antiarrhythmic effect of helium may thus be mediated by changes in sympathetic activity.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy.
L. W. RAYMOND (1973)
Ann Intern Med 79, 138-139
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)