Failure of pyruvate to salvage myocardium after prolonged ischemia

Thrombolytic therapy for acute coronary occlusion may be more effective if combined with substrate-enhanced reperfusion. In this study, we examined the utility of pyruvic acid, an important metabolic substrate, in salvaging ischemic myocardium. Twenty-six anesthetized dogs underwent 3 h of circumflex coronary occlusion followed by 90 min of reperfusion with administration of intracoronary pyruvate or vehicle. To test the sensitivity of the model in detecting differences in infarct size, eight additional dogs underwent coronary occlusion of shorter duration (45 min), an intervention that is known to reduce infarct size. Collateral perfusion to the ischemic zone during coronary occlusion was similar in experimental and control groups. Whereas a shorter duration of occlusion (45 min) decreased the infarct-to-risk area ratio by 54% compared with a longer duration of occlusion (90 min), neither early (15 min prior to occlusion) nor late (3 h after occlusion) onset of intracoronary infusion of pyruvate shifted the infarct-risk relationship (control: y = 74x - 8.7, r = 0.99; early infusion: y = 0.76x - 9.5, r = 0.85; late infusion: y = 0.58x - 5.5, r = 0.79). The failure of intracoronary administration of pyruvate to limit infarct size raises questions as to its potential clinical utility in the setting of acute myocardial ischemia.