Vagal cardiopulmonary reflexes after left ventricular deafferentation.

Background: Cardiac transplantation and chronic myocardial infarction interrupt vagal afferent nerve fibers, which originate mainly from the ventricles. Marked abnormalities of reflexes mediated by cardiopulmonary receptors with vagal afferent fibers have been demonstrated after both cardiac transplantation and chronic myocardial infarction. The relation between these reflex abnormalities and ventricular deafferentation is not known.