Acute experiments on cats showed that injection of catecholamines induced unidirectional shifts in right and left atrial pressure in 70% cases (these shifts were positive in one half of cats and negative in the other half). In 30% cases, the left and right atrial pressures changed in opposite direction: right atrial pressure decreased, while left atrial pressure increased (19%), or vice versa (11%). The pressure changes in the left atrium had greater amplitude and longer duration compared to those in the right atrium.