Background: It has been well documented that transient occlusion of the coronary artery causes myocardial ischemia and finally cell death when ischemia is sustained for more than 20 minutes. Extensive studies have revealed that ischemic myocardium cannot recover without reperfusion by adequate restoration of blood flow, however, reperfusion can cause long-lasting cardiac dysfunction and aggravation of structural damage. The author therefore attempted to examine the effect of postischemic reperfusion on myocardial ultrastructure and to determine the rationales for recanalization therapy to salvage ischemic myocardium.
Materials and methods: Young Holstein-Friesian cows(130∼140 Kg body weight; n=40) of both sexes, maintained with nutritionally balanced diet and under constant conditions, were used. The left anterior descending coronary artery(LAD) was occluded by ligation with 4-0 silk snare for 20 minutes and recanalized by release of the ligation under continuous intravenous drip anesthesia with sodium pentobarbital(0.15 mg/Kg/min). Drill biopsies of the risk area (antero-lateral wall) were performed at just on reperfusion(5 minutes), 1-, 2-, 3-, 6-, 12-hours after recanalization, and at 1-hour assist(only with mechanical respiration and fluid replacement) after 12-hour recanalization. The materials were subdivided into subepicardial and subendocardial tissues. Tissue samples were examined with a transmission electron microscope (Philips EM 300) at the accelerating voltage of 60 KeV.
Results: After a 20-minute ligation of the LAD, myocytes showed slight to moderate degree of ultrastructural changes including subsarcolemmal bleb formation, loss of nuclear matrix, clumping of chromatin and margination, mitochondrial destruction, and contracture of sarcomeres. However, microvascular structures were relatively well preserved. After 1-hour reperfusion, nuclear and mitochondrial matrices reappeared and intravascular plugging by polymorphonuclear leukocytes or platelets was observed. However, nucleoli and intramitochondrial granules reappeared within 3 hours of reperfusion and a large number of myocytes were recovered progressively within 6 hours of reperfusion. Recovery was apparent in the subepicardial myocytes and there were no distinct changes in the ultrastructure except narrowed lumen of the microvessels in the later period of reperfusion.
Conclusions: It is likely that the ischemic myocardium could not be salvaged without adequate restoration of coronary flow and that the microvasculature is more resistant to reversible period of ischemia than subendocardium and subepicardium. Therefore, thrombolysis and/or angioplasty may be a rational method of therapy for coronarogenic myocardial ischemia. However, it may take a relatively longer period of time to recover from ischemic insult and reperfusion injury should be considered.
(Korean J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 1998;31:739-48)

Keywords: Reperfusion , Myocardium , Reperfusion injury