A comparison of the protective effect of a modified StTH solution and HTK-B on the energy and functional status of the isolated rat heart.

Using a model of the isolated beating rat heart, the authors compared the protective effect of St. Thomas Hospital cardioplegic solution enriched with glucose and mannitol (StTH-M) and Bretschneider solution (HTK-B). Results showed that, during 120-minute global ischaemia in cardioplegia, StTH-M was able to maintain levels of high-energy phosphates comparable with those found in a group of hearts perfused with HTK-B at 20 degrees C only when the temperature had been decreased to 12-15 degrees C. Under these conditions, repair of metabolic and functional parameters during post-ischaemic perfusion was also similar in both groups.