Cold Blood Potassium Cardioplegia: A Five-Year Experience With 400 Consecutive Patients

Abstract

The purpose of this study is clinically to evaluate the efficacy of cold blood potassium cardioplegia (BPC) during ischemia. Four hundred patients, includ ing 141 congenital heart diseases (Group I), 220 acquired valve-heart diseases (Group II) and 39 other acquired cardio-vascular diseases (Group III), were operated on using cold BPC. In Group I, the hospital death occurred in 12 patients and the late death in four. There were 21 hospital and five late deaths in Group II. In Group III, the hospital and late deaths occurred in four and in one, respectively. In a total of 400 patients, overall cardiac-related hospital mor tality was 5.5%, which is within the established ones reported by others. Fur thermore, in valve-heart surgery, there was no close relationship between the length of aortic occlusion or poor ventricular function (less than 0.4 of ejection fraction), and cardiac-related hospital death. Therefore, we conclude that cold BPC provides excellent myocardial protection.