In patients with critical coronary stenosis, it has been documented that myocardial ischemia continues even after cessation of exercise. To clarify this mechanism, we studied the changes in transmural blood flow distribution and regional myoeardial function in flow limited canine model. In 29 anesthetized dogs, circumflex coronary artery was cannulated and per fused with arterial blood at constant flow rate using a roller pump. Regional wall thiekening (%WT: sonomicrometry) and calculated coronary vascular resistance (CVR) were obtained at control (c), during norepinephrine infusion (NE: 0.3/μg/kg/min, I. C,) and 2 minutes after cessation of NE infusion (R). Regional myocardial blood flow was measured by eolored microspheres at C and R. This protocol was performed with (N=7) and without (n=16) adenosine receptor blockade, 8-sulfophenyl theophylline (8-SPT