Changes in left ventricular function after cardiac arrest and reperfusion in hypertropheral hearts

Hypertrophied hearts may be more susceptible to ischemia/reperfusion during cardiac surgery than normal hearts, so we designed to compare the alterations in left ventricular function after ischemia/reperfusion, in hypertrophied hearts (Group H) with those in normal hearts (Group C), using a rabbit heart model of hypertrophy induced by banding of the ascending thoracic aorta. The pre and postischemic left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), positive and negative dP/dt, and coronary flow were measured. The percent recovery of coronary flow and negative dP/dt were significantly lower in Group H than in Group C (p < 0.05). The LVEDP was significantly greater in Group H, and the LVEDP increased significantly from the base line value in Group H (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in other value between two groups. These findings demonstrated that LV diastolic dysfunction rather than LV systolic dysfunction occurred in the early ischemic stage, especially to hypertrophied hearts, indicating that better protection is required for these hearts.