Continuous normothermic retrograde cardioplegia for valve surgery.

We have studied warm heart surgery, deemed as continuous warm blood cardioplegia and normothermic cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), as an alternative to the technique of intermittent cold cardioplegia for valvular surgery. Between August 1990 and January 1994, 137 consecutive patients underwent valve repair or replacement using normothermic CPB. Eighty-six of these patients received continuous normothermic retrograde blood cardioplegia via the coronary sinus (CNRC). Fifty-one patients received intermittent cold blood cardioplegia (ICBC). All procedures were performed by the same surgeon (RWMF). The two groups were matched for age, sex, NYHA class, preoperative ejection fraction, diagnosis, procedure and activated clotting time. Warm blood cardioplegia was delivered continuously via the coronary sinus after antegrade arrest (oxygenated blood 1:4 to 1:3, 37 degrees C, 250-300 ml/min, maintaining coronary sinus pressures of 40-60 mmHg. Perioperative myocardial infarction was significantly less prevalent (4.6 vs. 8.0%; p < 0.05) in the warm cardioplegia group. Cardiac output immediately after bypass was significantly higher than before bypass only in the CNRC group (4.1 +/- 0.8 to 5.2 +/- 0.9 L/min; p < 0.01). CNRC patients had significantly higher incidence of spontaneous resumption of sinus rhythm at cross-clamp removal (80 of 86, 93%) compared to the hypothermic patients (14 of 51, 27%, p < 0.001). The time from removal of the aortic cross-clamp to discontinuation of CPB (reperfusion time) was significantly shorter in the warm cardioplegia group (43 +/- 7.4 versus 75 +/- 10.2 min; p < 0.001.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)