The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of intracoronary injection of the contrast medium sodium-meglumine diatrizoate (CM) on left ventricular (LV) diastolic pressure-volume relationships. Seven closed-chest dogs were instrumented with pressure catheters in the left ventricle and aorta, a balloon transducer to measure pericardial pressure, and an aortic flow meter to determine stroke volume. We estimated LV volume from two diameters by sonomicrometry. Six milliliters of CM was injected into the left main coronary artery. Transmural LV end-diastolic pressure increased from 3.3 +/- 1.1 to 7.2 +/- 0.9 mm Hg and LV end-diastolic volume index from 40.8 +/- 6.8 to 44.7 +/- 7.4 ml. There was only a minor increase in pericardial pressure. Stroke volume decreased by 31 +/- 7%. There was no change in the intracavitary or transmural diastolic pressure-volume relationship, indicating unchanged LV "compliance." Increased LV filling pressure by CM reflected reduced systolic function.