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Abstract
Cardiac dysrhythmias result from abnormalities in rate, regularity, or sequence of
cardiac activation, and because of direct actions of the autonomic nervous system
upon each of these properties, imbalance in this system may play an important role
in the genesis of cardiac dysrhythmia. A canine model has been developed in which
the extrinsic innervation of the heart is ablated with the exception of the ventrolateral
cardiac nerve. This nerve is distributed primarily to the inferior atrial, AV junctional,
and ventricular tissues. Following recovery from surgery, the animal is placed on
a treadmill and required to perform strenuous exercise. In all of six animals which
sustained repeated exercise testing over periods of 4-12 months, dysrhythmias of varying
complexities were elicited. None appeared in parallel experiments conducted in control
or sham-operated animals. The dysrhythmias consisted of supraventricular, AV junctional,
or ventricular tachycardias with occasional premature atrial or ventricular systoles.
The dysrhythmias were not influenced by atropine but were generally controlled by
propranolol.