Conventional approaches for the treatment of myocardial ischemia increase coronary blood flow or reduce myocardial demand. To determine whether a rightward shift in the hemoglobin-oxygen saturation curve would reduce the metabolic and contractile effects of a myocardial oxygen-supply imbalance, we studied the impact of a potent synthetic allosteric modifier of hemoglobin-oxygen affinity, a 2-[4...

BACKGROUND Free radical injury contributes to cardiac dysfunction during ischemia-reperfusion. Detoxification of free radicals requires maintenance of reduced glutathione (GSH) by NADPH. The principal mechanism responsible for generating NADPH and maintaining GSH during periods of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion remains unknown. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), the rate-limiting enzyme...

We show here that exposure of cardiac cells to simulated ischemia results in apoptosis and is accompanied by phosphorylation and increased expression and transcriptional activity of STAT-1. Similarly, interferon-gamma, which is known to induce STAT-1 activation, also induced apoptosis in cardiac cells. STAT-1-transfected cells were more susceptible to ischemia-induced cell death than cells tran...

BACKGROUND During myocardial ischemia, massive norepinephrine (NE) is released from the cardiac sympathetic nerve terminals, reflecting the sympathetic nerve injury. A brief preceding ischemia can reduce infarct size; this is known as ischemic preconditioning (PC). The effect of PC on sympathetic nerves, however, including its underlying mechanisms in dog hearts, has remained unclear. Thus, thi...

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an important tool that makes it possible to evaluate patients with cardiovascular disease; in addition to infarction and alterations in myocardial perfusion, cardiac MRI is useful for evaluating other phenomena such as microvascular obstruction and ischemia. The main prognostic factors in cardiac MRI are ventricular dysfunction, necrosis in late enhan...

The search for effective methods of myocardial cytoprotection against ischemia is the most significant issue in modern cardiology and cardiac surgery. Glucocorticoids are deemed very strong modulators of inflammatory response and thus can potentially protect heart muscle from postreperfusion injury and myocardial ischemia during cardiac surgery. Ultrastructural examination of the left ventricle...

Ischemic preconditioning is a physiologic phenomenon that occurs in the cardiac muscle in which brief episodes of ischemia protect the heart when exposed to a sustained ischemia. Clinical counterparts include potential benefits of preinfarction angina and less ischemia after a second, compared to a first, coronary angioplasty balloon inflation. This article will discuss how preconditioning migh...

Cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury is evoked by reactive oxygen species (ROS). We previously reported that sulfaphenazole (SPZ) attenuated cardiac ROS levels and ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. SPZ has distinct two actions: a) elimination of ROS and b) inhibition of cytochrome P450 (CYP) that is responsible for ROS production. The aim of this study is to determine which action contributes...

Interruption of coronary flow during cardiac surgical procedures provides a bloodless flaccid heart and allows precise and rapid correction of complex cardiac defects. However, myocardial damage occurs in direct proportion to the duration of the ischemia. As the induction of cardioplegia simulataneous with the initiation of cardiac ischemia helps to preserve cardiac energy reserves and thus myo...