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Warm heart surgery: concept, concerns, and future course
1Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery, St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada.
Journal of Cardiac Surgery
|March 1, 1993
Abstract:
Hypothermia has been considered a prerequisite for decreasing oxygen consumption and providing myocardial protection. The decrease in myocardial oxygen consumption however, is more closely related to the state of electromechanical arrest than to hypothermia. The rationale for warm blood cardioplegia is based not only on electromechanical quiescence but equally on facilitation of O2 delivery. This report outlines the basis for the concepts, the various concerns and the possible future directions of warm blood cardioplegia.