Figure 2. Summary data for ‘freely perfused’ (grey, n = 9) and ‘ligated’ (black, n = 12) rats undergoing three consecutive, static contractions during infusion of saline (Ctrl), tiron (Trn) and saline washout (Wash).

A and B, ‘ligated’ rats show a greater increase in mean arterial pressure (ΔMAP) during saline infusion than do ‘freely perfused’ rats. This exaggeration is abolished by tiron infusion, but partially restored during saline washout. C, tiron reduced the cardioaccelerator response (ΔHR) to contraction in ‘ligated’ rats, which was restored following saline washout. Tiron had no significant effect on the cardioaccelerator response to contraction in ‘freely perfused’ rats. D, rats undergoing femoral artery ligation showed a main‐effect reduction in the tension‐time index (TTI) compared to ‘freely perfused’ rats. ^* P < 0.05, ^** P < 0.01 and ^*** P < 0.001 for bracketed comparison. The baseline mean ± SE is shown within each vertical bar.