Perioperative myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury

Myocardial I-R injury contributes to adverse cardiovascular outcomes after cardiac surgery. The pathogenesis of I-R injury is complex and involves the activation, coordination, and amplification of several systemic and local proinflammatory pathways (Fig. 4). Treatment and prevention of perioperative morbidity associated with myocardial I-R will ultimately require a multifocal approach. Combining preoperative risk stratification (co-morbidity and surgical complexity), minimizing initiating factors predisposing to SIRS, limiting ischemia duration, and administering appropriate immunotherapy directed toward systemic and local proinflammatory mediators of I-R injury, should all be considered. In addition, the role of the genetic-environmental interactions in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease is also being examined. Thus, in the near future, preoperative screening for polymorphisms of certain inflammatory and coagulation genes should inevitably help reduce morbidity by permitting the identification of high-risk cardiac surgical patients and introducing the opportunity for gene therapy or pharmacogenetic intervention [42,64].