Effects of oxygen inhalation on intramyocardial oxygen tension

Abstract

Quantitative intramyocardial oxygen tension measurements were made in seven anaesthetized dogs using a polarographic technique. One hundred per cent oxygen inhalation produced only a modest 7 mm Hg increase in intramyocardial oxygen tension (16 to 23 mm Hg pO2) despite a five-fold increase in arterial blood oxygen tension. These experimental findings are in agreement with basic theoretical considerations and raise certain fundamental questions about the value of oxygen therapy in acute myocardial infarction.