Improved heart preservation with UW preservation solution.

Despite the good clinical results obtained with the current heart preservation techniques, these methods need to be improved. The UW solution has provided excellent preservation for the pancreas, kidney, and liver after extended cold ischemic storage times. We have tested the ability of the UW solution to store hearts for 5 and 12 hours and compared the results with those obtained from hearts preserved by either Stanford or modified Collins' solutions. Three groups of five canine hearts each underwent 5 hours, and three groups of five canine hearts underwent 12 hours of ischemia at 4 degrees C. Then the hearts were reperfused in an isolated working canine heart preparation. Those hearts preserved for 5 hours had nearly normal ventricular function and adenosine triphosphate contents and were able to maintain normal tissue electrolyte concentration and water contents. After 12 hours of storage time only adenosine triphosphate contents were similar among the groups. Hearts preserved with the UW solution rapidly recovered, reaching nearly normal left ventricular function by 60 minutes of reperfusion; hearts preserved by the modified Collins' solution recovered more slowly, but function was good after 120 minutes of reperfusion. Hearts preserved by the Stanford solution never attained adequate function. The three groups of hearts preserved for 12 hours did not differ in their ability to utilize lactate or in their rates of oxygen utilization. Tissue water and sodium contents were considerably lower in the hearts preserved with the UW solution after 150 minutes of reperfusion compared with hearts stored in the modified Collins' or Stanford solutions. Hearts stored 12 hours in the UW solution under cold ischemic conditions recovered left ventricular function rapidly after reperfusion with normal blood, utilized lactate and oxygen at normal rates, and were able to regulate tissue water and sodium contents to nearly normal levels. Because of the superior preservation obtained by the UW solution, the solution deserves further evaluation for possible future use in clinical heart transplant programs.