Effect of cardiopulmonary bypass and global ischemia on human and canine left ventricular mass: evidence for interspecies differences.

Previous studies in dogs suggest that global ischemia with cardiopulmonary bypass causes increased left ventricular (LV) mass and water content. To investigate effects in humans, we developed a simplified method for mass determination by intraoperative two-dimensional echocardiography. LV mass was measured as echocardiographic short-axis myocardial area. This was validated by linear regression versus postmortem LV mass in 10 dogs (r = 0.89) and versus single-plane angiography in 18 patients (r = 0.73). According to this method, there was no change in LV mass (209 gm versus 208 gm; NS) at constant preload in 20 patients during routine operations (eight coronary revascularizations, 10 aortic valve replacements, and two mitral valve replacements). The same method used in 10 dogs after 2 hours of bypass, 60 minutes of normothermic global ischemia, and reperfusion revealed an LV mass increase from 113 +/- 13 gm (SE) to 150 +/- 16 gm (p less than 0.01) at matched preload. In addition, in 14 dogs after 2 hours of bypass alone, LV mass was unchanged (98 +/- 5 gm versus 101 +/- 5 gm; NS) at matched preload. Data recently derived from a separate study in our laboratory revealed a statistically significant increase in canine LV mass when conditions of human cardiopulmonary bypass and cardioplegic arrest were reproduced. We conclude that uncomplicated cardiac operations in humans do not alter LV mass. This supports the safety of crystalloid cardioplegia in humans. While present evidence is not conclusive, it appears that the threshold for edema formation after ischemic injury may be higher in humans than it is in dogs. The clinical relevance of studies of cardioplegia in edematous dog hearts thus deserves careful scrutiny.