Captopril in cardioplegia and reperfusion: Protective effects on the ischemic heart

Background. Previous studies have shown that longterm treatment with the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor captopril attenuates left ventricular dilatation and improves survival after extensive myocardial infarction. However, there is only sparse evidence of the immediate effects of the drug on hearts undergoing global ischemia and reperfusion. The purpose of this study was to investigate the direct effect of captopril, given in cardioplegia or after ischemia, on the functional recovery of the reperfused myocardium. Methods. Isolated rat hearts undergoing warm cardioplegic arrest followed by 1 hour of global ischemia and 30 minutes of reperfusion were studied using the modified Langendorff model. Results. After ischemia, hearts receiving captopril (360 μmol/L) either in the cardioplegic solution (n = 9) or during reperfusion (n = 9) developed higher pressure (p < 0.001), greater first derivative of the rise in left ventricular pressure (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively), greater first derivative of the fall in left ventricular pressure (p < 0.001 and p < 0.002), higher pressure-time integral (p < 0.001), greater coronary flow (p < 0.001), and higher oxygen consumption values (p < 0.001 and p < 0.003) compared with the control group (n = 9). Hearts receiving captopril both in the cardioplegia and during reperfusion (n = 9) had the best recovery of all three groups and lower levels of creatine kinase (47.8 ± 5.9 U/L versus 73.3 ± 5.6 U/L; p < 0.01) compared with the control group. Conclusions. Captopril given in cardioplegia and in reperfusion has a favorable, protective, and additive effect on the recovery of isolated rat hearts undergoing global ischemia and reperfusion; hemodynamic performance improves, coronary flow and oxygen consumption increase, and myocardial damage decreases.