The relationship between the decrease in intramyocardial extracellular pH and the degree of stenosis of the left anterior descending (LAD) coronary artery was studied in eight dogs pretreated with propranolol. Intramyocardial pH was measured with a miniature glass pH electrode and with a new photometric pH probe that uses fiber-optic filaments to measure the color change of an indicator substance in a small permeable chamber. The LAD was cannulated and perfused from the axillary artery. Cannula flow was measured with an electromagnetic flow probe, and regional myocardial blood flow (RMBF) was measured with radioactive microspheres before and at the end of a period of critical stenosis, 2/3 reduction of flow, or total occlusion of the LAD cannula. In the region of the glass electrode, the mean RMBF (+/-SE) decreased by 16.3 +/- 3.3, 52.7 +/- 7.3, and 84.8 +/- 6.5% during the three levels of stenosis, and the pH correspondingly decreased by 0.05 +/- 0.01, 0.29 +/- 0.10, and 0.94 +/- 0.17 units. In the region of the photometric probe, the RMBF decreased 19.1 +/- 1.3, 47.2 +/- 6.7, and 84.3 +/- 6.0%, and the pH decreased by 0.05 +/- 0.02, 0.14 +/- 0.04, and 0.76 +/- 0.18 units. There was no statistically significant difference between the two types of pH sensor.