%0 Journal Article
%T A novel survival model of cardioplegic arrest and cardiopulmonary bypass in rats: a methodology paper
%A Fellery de Lange
%A Kenji Yoshitani
%A Mihai V Podgoreanu
%A Hilary P Grocott
%A G Burkhard Mackensen
%J Journal of Cardiothoracic Surgery
%D 2008
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1749-8090-3-51
%X Sprague-Dawley rats were cannulated for CPB (n = 10). With ultrasound guidance, a 3.5 mm balloon angioplasty catheter was positioned via the right common carotid artery with its tip proximal to the aortic valve. To initiate cardioplegic arrest, the balloon was inflated and cardioplegia solution injected. After 30 min of cardioplegic arrest, the balloon was deflated, ventilation resumed, and rats were weaned from CPB and recovered. To rule out any evidence of cerebral ischemia due to right carotid artery ligation, animals were neurologically tested on postoperative day 14, and their brains histologically assessed.Thirty minutes of cardioplegic arrest was successfully established in all animals. Functional assessment revealed no neurologic deficits, and histology demonstrated no gross neuronal damage.This novel small animal CPB model with cardioplegic arrest allows for both the study of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury as well as new cardioprotective strategies. Major advantages of this model include its overall feasibility and cost effectiveness. In future experiments long-term echocardiographic outcomes as well as enzymatic, genetic, and histologic characterization of myocardial injury can be assessed. In the field of myocardial protection, rodent models will be an important avenue of research.Although considerable progress has been made in surgical techniques and other perioperative management to allow for the majority of patients to undergo cardiac surgery without significant mortality, more than 25% of this surgical population may still experience substantial morbidity related to adverse cardiovascular events. These include prolonged contractile dysfunction (stunning), myocardial infarction, low-output syndromes, and overt ventricular failure, all resulting in prolonged intensive care unit stay and reduced functional capacity at discharge, and ultimately contribute to overall mortality [1,2]. Mortality after perioperative myocardial infarction is 40¨C50% [3]
%U http://www.cardiothoracicsurgery.org/content/3/1/51