Differential Effects of Halogenated Volatile Anesthetics on Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in In Vivo Rabbit Model

• Published in: CIRCULATION CONTROL Vol. 31; no. 3; pp. 208 - 213
• Main Authors: Ito, Mitsuhiro, Imaizumi, Uno, Beppu, Hisashi, Yui, Hitoshi, Furuya, Munetaka, Arisaka, Hirofumi, Yoshida, Kazu-ichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Japanese
• Published: Japan Society of Circulation Control in Medicine 2010
• Subjects: halothane; ischemia/reperfusion injury; isoflurane; myocardial protection; sevoflurane
• ISSN: 0389-1844
• DOI: 10.11312/ccm.31.208

This study evaluated the comparative effects of three inhalational anesthetic agents on myocardial infarction and arrhythmias in rabbit hearts subjected to a regional ischemia/reperfusion insult. Rabbits received regional ischemia by 30 min of left anterior descending coronary artery(LAD) occlusion and followed by 3 hours of reperfusion under general anesthesia. The anesthetics studied were: ketamine/xylazine(35 mg/kg/hr and 5 mg/kg/hr respectively, Control), halothane(1.0%, H), isoflurane(1.4%, I), and sevoflurane(2.1%, S). At the end of the 3 hrs reperfusion, the area at risk was delineated by Evans blue staining and the infarct size was determined by tetrazolium staining. The area at risk showed no significant differences among the groups. The mean infarct size was 59.3±1.9% of the risk area in Control, and it was significantly greater than those in H, I and S: 36.9±3.3%, 39.1±4.8%, and 23.0±3.2%, respectively(p<0.05 vs. control). The incidence of arrhythmia during myocardial ischemia was 66.7% in Control, 16.7% in H, I, and S. The incidence of arrhythmias during reperfusion was 50.0% in Control, 33.3% in H, 16.7% in I and S. The volatile anesthetics tested in this study could protect the ischemic rabbit heart from infarction, as compared with ketamine/xylazine anesthesia. Sevoflurane may have the most powerful cardioprotection among these volatile anesthetics.