Myocardial stunning following coronary angioplasty: protective effects of calcium-channel blockers.

The beneficial effects of calcium-channel blockers against myocardial stunning have been tested in experimental studies, showing that, when added before or during ischemia, a protective effect against postischemia stunning is achieved. The present study was undertaken to test and compare the protective effect of calcium antagonists [nisoldipine (NIS) and nifedipine (NIF)] and nitrates (NIT) against myocardial stunning in patients with coronary artery disease undergoing percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) with prolonged inflation as PTCA represents a model of induced acute and severe ischemia for a brief period and might cause myocardial stunning. The study included 30 patients between the ages of 42 and 67 years, all with exercise-induced angina and single-vessel disease, with severe stenosis (80% to subtotal occlusion) localized on the left anterior descending artery and with the absence of collaterals on the coronary angiograms. Moreover, all patients had normal left ventricular (LV) overall function, as well as normal systolic thickening of the anterior wall, supplied by the diseased artery. Patients were randomized to a pre-PTCA treatment with NIT, 80-120 mg/day (10 patients), NIF, 40-60 mg/day (10 patients), and NIS, 10-20 mg/day (10 patients). Pre-PTCA treatment was initiated 7 days before the procedure and continued after. During the PTCA, at the first balloon inflation, an additional dose of 300 micrograms of NIT was injected into the left anterior descending artery through the balloon catheter in the patients in the NIT group, as well as 0.2 mg of NIF in NIF group patients and 0.05 mg of NIS in NIS group patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)