Evaluation of the Occupational Health Hazards of Nitroglycerin Using Mammalian Models
Abstract
A system was designed and constructed to allow monitoring of (a) blood flow in the coronary artery by the use of Doppler flow probes and (b) ventricular pressure by the use of implantable pressure transducers. The information is transmitted via implanted FM transmitters to external receivers, where the signal is processed and transformed to calibrated pressure and flow on a strip-chart recorder. This technique was used to measure the effects of inhaled or percutaneously administered nitroglycerin on coronary flow, left ventricular pressure, and ECG in dogs. The results indicated that the technique was valid for investigating whether nitroglycerin causes increased coronary flow and whether compensatory or reflex vasoconstriction occurs upon withdrawal. Our studies showed that dogs exposed to nitroglycerin by inhalation demonstrated those phenomena slightly, but that dogs treated percutaneously with 1.0 g of nitroglycerin daily did not show withdrawal symptoms. Indeed, the percutaneous treatment produced marginal changes in pressure and flow, slowing of the heart rate, and a progressive deterioration of the ECG patterns (T-wave inversion, arrhythmias diminished atrial beats, and preventricular contractions.) Studies on uptake of tritiated nitroglycerin confirmed that nitroglycerin was absorbed through the skin, but it could not be detected in the blood; however, di- and mononitroglycerins were detected in the blood. Following 10 days of daily treatment, the half-life of dinitroglycerins in blood was nearly doubled.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA082459
Entities
People
- James V. Dilley
Organizations
- SRI International