| Abstract
| - The purpose of this study was to determine if the addition of potassiumto reinfusion cold blood cardioplegia (CBC) offers an advantage over coldblood alone. Forty patients matched for age, left ventricular function,extent of coronary disease and number of vessels bypassed wereprospectively randomized. Each patient received an initial dose of CBC (10cc/kg) with potassium. Group I patients (n = 23) received subsequentinfusions of CBC (5 cc/kg) containing potassium while Group II patients (n= 17) received cold blood only. The cross-clamp time, mean infusate volumeand temperature were not significantly different in the two groups.Following reperfusion, the cardiac index and the CPK isoenzyme release at0.5, 1, 8, and 12 h after cross-clamp release were not significantlydifferent between the groups. The postoperative appearance of new Q-waves,inotropic agent requirement, and reversal of the lactate dehydrogenase(LDH) isoenzyme ratio were also not significantly different in the twogroups. The study demonstrated that following initial arrest withpotassium, cold blood is equally as effective as potassium bloodcardioplegia in protecting the ischemic myocardium.
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