Acute and chronic effects of ethanol on papillary muscles from spontaneously hypertensive rats

The effects of chronic ethanol ingestion (12 weeks) on the mechanical properties of hypertrophied papillary muscle and the in vitro effects of ethanol (80–640 mg/dl) was studied. Papillary muscles from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) and their normotensive controls, the Wistar-Kyoto rat (WKY), were used in this study. Peak- developed tension was significantly less in muscles obtained from SHR compared with WKY even when normalized for muscle cross-sectional area. Chronic ethanol ingestion resulted in a significant shortening of both contraction and relaxation duration in muscles from SHR and WKY. In muscles from SHR and WKY, acute in vitro ethanol exposure produced concentration-dependent negative inotropic effects that were associated with a reduction in the duration of contraction and relaxation and marked slowing in the maximum velocities of tension development and decay. These findings suggest that the contractile response to ethanol exposure, in vitro, is not modified by either chronic ethanol ingestion or hypertension.