Physiological basis of Del Nido cardioplegia.

Abstract

Most cardiac surgery procedures in which extracorporeal circulation is used require the stopping of the heart to provide a blood and movement-free surgical field, myocardial protection of the arrested heart is an important component in the final outcome of the procedure. Del Nido cardioplegia, although it was created for immature hearts, is giving results in the adult population. It offers a lower viscosity than conventional 4:1 since the blood: crystalloid ratio is 1:4. It could be suggested that it has a better scope in the coronary microvasculature, offers a lower amount of calcium than other cardioplegies, which potentially translates as a reduction in the concentration of calcium in the sarcoplasmic reticulum and offers a longer period of depolarization because it has a greater amount of potassium than others, and for having lidocaine as a hyperpolarizing agent. We present a series of 300 adult patients who recieved cardiac surgery at the CEDIMAT Dominican Republic cardiovascular center.