Continuous warm versus intermittent cold cardioplegic infusion: a comparison of energy metabolism, sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase activity, and postischemic functional recovery in the blood-perfused rat heart.

We used metabolic, enzymatic, and functional end points to compare the protective properties of continuous warm and intermittent cold cardioplegic infusion in isolated, blood-perfused rat hearts. After excision, hearts (n = 12 per group) were preserved for 3 hours by one of the following cardioplegic procedures: (1) continuous infusion of warm (37 degrees C) blood cardioplegic solution prepared by mixing Fremes' solution with rat arterial blood in a ratio of 1:4, (2) continuous infusion of warm (37 degrees C) crystalloid cardioplegic solution prepared by mixing Fremes' solution with bicarbonate buffer solution in a ratio of 1:4, or (3) intermittent infusion of cold (20 degrees C) St. Thomas' Hospital cardioplegic solution number 2 infused for 3 minutes every 30 minutes during a 3-hour period of ischemia. In the continuous-infusion cardioplegic groups, the solution was infused through the aorta at a flow rate of 0.8 ml.min-1.gm-1 heart. At the end of the 3-hour preservation period, myocardial sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase activity (an index of ion-exchange activity) was assessed in six hearts in each group. The remaining hearts in each group were then aerobically perfused at 37 degrees C with arterial blood (from a support rat) for a further 50 minutes, during which time they were atrially paced at 320 beats/min. At the end of this period, left ventricular developed and end-diastolic pressures were assessed with an intraventricular balloon; the hearts were then freeze-clamped and taken for the measurement of tissue adenosine triphosphate and creatine phosphate content. Hearts (n = 6) aerobically perfused with blood for 50 minutes (no cardioplegic infusion) served as control preparations. At a balloon volume of 180 microliters, the mean final values for left ventricular developed pressure in the continuous warm blood, continuous warm crystalloid, and intermittent cold cardioplegic groups were 98 +/- 5 mm Hg (p < 0.05), 70 +/- 5 mm Hg, and 78 +/- 5 mm Hg, respectively. This was compared with 122 +/- 5 mm Hg in control hearts (p < 0.05 vs the rest). For left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, the corresponding values were 33 +/- 3 mm Hg, 32 +/- 6 mm Hg, and 14 +/- 4 mm Hg (p < 0.05), respectively. The control value was 16 +/- 3 mm Hg (p < 0.05 vs continuous warm blood and continuous warm crystalloid groups). Tissue content of adenosine triphosphate was similarly reduced to approximately 50% of control values in all groups, and creatine phosphate content fully recovered in all groups. Sodium-potassium adenosine triphosphatase activity was poorly preserved in continuous warm crystalloid-treated hearts (0.012 +/- 0.003 vs 0.030 +/- 0.008 mumol inorganic phosphate-mg-1.min-1.