Myocardial Damage and Inflammatory Response After Cardiac Surgical Revascularization on Beating and Arrested Heart

Coronary artery bypass grafting remains the preferred method for surgical myocardial revascularization. The use of extracorporeal circulation during surgery has been linked to myocardial damage and a systemic inflammatory response. To mitigate these adverse effects, off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting was introduced as an effective and safe alternative. However, the comparison between these two procedures has yielded ambiguous results. The aim of our study was to determine the differences in myocardial damage and the intensity of the inflammatory response by measuring concentrations of troponin, cardiac isoenzyme of creatine kinase, leukocytes, and C-reactive protein at multiple time points within the first 24 hours postoperatively.

This single-center, prospective study involved 61 patients diagnosed with coronary artery disease and divided into two groups based on the type of surgery performed.

Our results indicated that coronary artery bypass grafting with extracorporeal circulation is associated with greater myocardial damage, as evidenced by higher levels of troponin and cardiac isoenzyme of creatine kinase. Additionally, extracorporeal circulation was linked to a more pronounced increase in leukocyte count postoperatively. Unexpectedly, C-reactive protein levels were higher in the off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting group. There were no significant differences in hospital stay or in-hospital mortality between the two groups.

Further research is necessary to clarify these controversies regarding the differences in systemic inflammatory responses between the two surgical approaches.