Prevention of intraoperative myocardial injury by pretreatment with pharmacological agents.

Pharmacological agents administered prior to the institution of myocardial anoxia or ischemia may protect the myocardium by preventing ATP depletion, structural damage to cell membranes and organelles, and postanoxic disturbances in coronary microcirculation. Propranolol, dipyridamole, nitroglycerin, and mannitol all have the potential to protect the myocardium in one or more of these ways and thus have promise for clinical use.