Infarct Size in Awake Dogs With Acute Myocardial Infarction

Background. Short-term cholesterol feeding has been shown to affect vasomotor tone and increase infarct size in anesthetized rabbits. The purpose of the study was to determine whether acute hypercholesterolemia reduced collateral flow to ischemic myocardium and increased infarct size in the awake dog. Methods and Results. Acute myocardial infarction was produced in awake dogs by a 4-hour left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion followed by 6-hour reperfusion after either a cholesterol-supplemented diet (n= 14) or a control diet of dog chow (n= 15) for 10 days. Infarct