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Updated: May 11, 2026

Postconditioning with Lactate-enriched Blood for Cardioprotection in ST-segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction
Published on: May 28, 2019
[Iliac aneurysm rupture during preconditioning with levosimendan for coronary artery bypass graft]
A Román Fernández1, A López Álvarez1, M C Corujeira Rivera1
1Servicio de Anestesiología, Reanimación y Tratamiento del Dolor, Hospital Meixoeiro de Vigo, Complejo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo, Vigo, Pontevedra, España.
Abstract:
We present the case of a 77 year-old patient scheduled for coronary artery bypass. During the infusion of levosimendan as preconditioning for surgery, a rupture of right common iliac artery occurred. Surgery was delayed and an urgent aorto-bifemoral bypass was performed. We believe that the rupture of the artery was triggered by an increase in transmural pressure due to the inotropic effects of levosimendan in a dilated diseased vessel. To our knowledge, there are no cases of aneurysm rupture as a complication during levosimendan infusion, but the coincidence of events in time strongly suggests some kind of causal relationship.
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