BACKGROUND Bupivacaine retards myocardial acidosis during ischemia. The authors measured function of rat isolated hearts after prolonged storage to determine whether bupivacaine improves cardiac protection compared with standard cardioplegia alone. METHODS After measuring cardiac function on a Langendorff apparatus, hearts were perfused with cardioplegia alone (controls), cardioplegia contain...

The goals of myocardial protection during cardiac surgery are not only to facilitate the operation by providing a quiet bloodless field, thereby facilitating the precision of the operation, but also to avoid iatrogenic injury induced by cardiopulmonary bypass itself or by surgically imposed ischemia. In addition, myocardial protective strategies are geared to preventing reperfusion injury upon ...

BACKGROUND We investigated whether intermittent blood and crystalloid cardioplegia differentially affect myocardial apoptosis and apoptosis gene-related proteins. METHODS AND RESULTS Rabbit hearts were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit buffer on a Langendorff apparatus. Control hearts (n=6) were perfused for 120 minutes without cardioplegic ischemia. Hearts were arrested for 60 minutes with warm ...

The effects of verapamil (1 mg/liter, 2 x 10(-6) mol/liter), quiescence, and cardioplegia (K+ 16 mmol/liter, Mg2+ 16 mmol/liter) on calcium exchange and mechanical function during ischemia and reperfusion have been investigated in the rabbit interventricular septum at 32 degrees C. Calcium influx and efflux were recorded continuously with 47Ca2+ and 45Ca2+. After 60 minutes of total ischemia an...

OBJECTIVE To compare the cardioprotective efficacy of cold crystalloid cardioplegia and intermittent ischaemic arrest in patients undergoing elective coronary artery surgery. DESIGN Prospective randomised trial. SETTING London teaching hospital. SUBJECTS 20 patients with at least moderately good left ventricular function undergoing elective coronary artery surgery by one experienced surge...

Matsuda, Naruto, Kathleen G. Morgan, and Frank W. Sellke. Effects of pinacidil on coronary Ca-myosin phosphorylation in cold potassium cardioplegia model. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 279: H882–H888, 2000.—The effects of the potassium (K) channel opener pinacidil (Pin) on the coronary smooth muscle Ca-myosin light chain (MLC) phosphorylation pathway under hypothermic K cardioplegia were dete...

Focus on improved myocardial protection has prompted the development of delivery systems which can accommodate the demands of increasingly refined cardioprotective strategies. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Sorin Blood Cardioplegia Console (BCC) for accuracy and precision in the delivery of cardioplegia solutions. An in vitro model was designed to evaluate the following performan...

INTRODUCTION Several strategies are still being introduced to cardiac surgery techniques to reduce the signs of the inflammatory response and oxidative stress. Many efforts have been made to develop the best possible method for myocardial protection. AIM To assess the effect of the cardioplegia strategy on the systemic inflammatory response and oxidative stress. MATERIAL AND METHODS A group...

Cold crystalloid cardioplegia is clinically used since the mid-1960s. It is currently applied in adult and pediatric cardiac surgery patients and remains the preferred method of myocardial protection for many cardiac surgeons. This chapter gives a brief overview about the technical aspects of cold crystalloid cardioplegia application in the operating room.