Abstract
It is well recognized that blood flow at the inlet of the coronary system varies during the cardiac cycle, being higher during diastole than during systole. This is due to the generation of intramyocardial pressure during cardiac contraction, which limits coronary blood flow [1]. The flow, in fact, is inversely related to coronary resistance, an entity which in turn is comprised of 3 factors: viscous resistance, auto-regulatory resistance and compressive resistance [2]. The latter determinant is related to the compression of intramural vessels due to intramyocardial pressure and is characterized by both spatial and temporal heterogenity [3–5]. In fact, compressive resistance is three to four times higher during systole than in diastole, and it increases progressively from outer to the inner myocardial layers. As a result of compressive resistance, systolic perfusion would be anticipated to be predominantly subepicardial, and blood flow could even cease during systole in the inner portion of subendocardial layers [6, 7].
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© 1991 Kluwer Academic Publishers
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Rovai, D. et al. (1991). Physiological heterogeneity of coronary blood flow in space and time by contrast echocardiography. In: Iliceto, S., Rizzon, P., Roelandt, J.R.T.C. (eds) Ultrasound in Coronary Artery Disease. Developments in Cardiovascular Medicine, vol 113. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0611-2_30
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-0611-2_30
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-010-6762-1
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