[Pathogenesis and the prevention of hypoxic heart contracture].

The authors studied the development of hypoxic contracture of an isolated isovolumic rat heart and the effect of a water-soluble antioxidant of the class of oxypyridines, OX YP-6, on such a contracture. It was established that a contracture manifested by a rise of diastolic pressure from 5 to 40 mm Hg develops regularly in the isolated heart of control animals after 20 minutes of hypoxia. Administration of the antioxidant OX YP-6 to animals for 3 days preceding the experiment prevented the contracture completely and caused fuller and more rapid restoration of heart contractility during reoxygenation. On the grounds of these facts it is suggested that activation of lipid peroxidation in the membranes of the heart muscle plays the key role in the origin of hypoxic and reoxygenation contracture of the heart. The possibilities of using the antioxidant in the prevention of hypoxic and reoxygenation disorders of heart activity in patients are discussed.