Exotoxic shock was simulated in non-linear rat males anesthetized with barbital after intragastric administration of 70% acetic acid at a dose of 4 ml/kg using a gastric tube. Energy metabolism and the rate of lipid peroxidation were studied in heart muscle during the decompensated and terminal periods of exotoxic shock. Sodium hydroxybutyrate (200 mg/kg) and gutimine (75 mg/kg), administered alone within 30 min after the poisoning, prolonged the period before manifestation of the decompensated and terminal steps of the shock; these drugs decreased the rate of metabolic impairments in the myocardium by decreasing the rates of adenine nucleotide catabolism, of glycolysis, lipolysis and lipid peroxidation.