CORONARY ARTERY VASOREACTIVITY

After the brain, the heart is the second largest consumer of blood-oxygen and nutrients in the human body. Although its chambers are filled with blood, its primary source of nourishment is through a network of coronary arteries which supply blood exclusively to the heart muscle.

The ability of coronary arteries to contract or dilate is crucial to the proper functioning of the heart. Decreased blood flow to the heart due to blockage (arteriosclerosis) or contraction (hypertension) causes ischemia and cell death of oxygen-deprived segments. Numerous compounds and technologies have been developed to increase coronary vasodilation, thereby improving heart function.

Chemical compounds, both endogenous to humans and synthetically-manufactured, regulate coronary vasoreactivity (ie, the ability of coronary arteries to contract or dilate from their ‘normal’ resting state).

Using isolated coronary artery ring segments, AVIVA scientists can measure the effect of pharmaceutical compounds on tension generation to evaluate their putative effects on downstream heart function.