Ph.D. student Department of Veterinary Surgery, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan
Abstract:
Background: Vericiguat, a direct soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) stimulator, improves heart failure outcomes in human, including reduced rehospitalization rates. However, its specific effects on individual cardiovascular properties, such as heart rate, cardiac function, systemic vascular resistance (SVR), and stressed blood volume (SBV), remain unclear.
Objectives: Given vasodilators trigger baroreflex-mediated sympathetic activation, we aimed to evaluate the isolated impact of vericiguat on cardiovascular properties in baroreflex-absent dogs. Animals:Five healthy beagle dogs under general anesthesia were studied.
Methods: Arterial pressure (AP), right atrial pressure (RAP), left atrial pressure (LAP), and cardiac output (CO) were measured simultaneously. SBV was calculated as (CO + 19.61*RAP + 3.49*LAP)*0.129. We infused vericiguat (30 γ) for 10 minutes and assessed its effects on cardiovascular properties in the absence of baroreflex AP buffering (sino-aortic denervation).
Results: In baroreflex-absent dogs, vericiguat reduced both mean AP and CO without significantly altering atrial pressures. It significantly decreased SVR (71.8 vs. 49.9 mmHg*min/L, P < 0.05) but not left ventricular pump function (SL, the slope of CO curve: 55.6 vs. 57.4 mL/min*kg, NS). SBV also decreased significantly (28.9 vs. 27.6 mL/kg, P < 0.05), while the change was modest. Conclusions and clinical importance:The acute hemodynamic effect of vericiguat primarily resulted from SVR reduction. These findings can inform optimized drug therapy strategies for heart failure patients.
