Atrial natriuretic factor during percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.

To study the release of plasma atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) and to explain the mechanism underlying its increase during myocardial ischemia, we measured plasma ANF and mean pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCW) before, during and after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) in eight patients. All patients were free of calcium channel antagonists and beta-blocking drugs. Evidence of myocardial ischemia was observed in all patients with an increase of PCW from 3.2 +/- 1.2 to 10.6 +/- 2.9 mm Hg (mean +/- SD; p less than 0.001). Heart rate and mean blood pressure did not change significantly. We observed an increase of plasma ANF during PTCA, from 53 +/- 24 to 100 +/- 37 pmol/L (mean +/- SD; p less than 0.005). There was a correlation between absolute values of ANF and PCW before and during PTCA (r = 0.64, p less than 0.01). After PTCA, ANF levels remained increased for at least twenty minutes (p less than 0.005 vs basal state) despite a decrease in PCW. Thus, increase of PCW during this very short-term left ventricular ischemic dysfunction induces an increase of plasma ANF, which persists during a certain time when PCW returns to normal.