| Preconditioning effects of levosimendan in coronary artery bypass grafting--a pilot study (2006) | |||||||||||||
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| Background. The calcium sensitizer levosimendan protects against myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion injury in animal models. Methods. The present pilot study investigated whether a short infusion before coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) would protect the myocardium and improve postoperative haemodynamics. Twenty-four patients with stable angina undergoing elective CABG surgery were randomized to receive either placebo or levosimendan (24 µg kg−1) infused i.v. over a 10 min period just before placing the patient on cardiopulmonary bypass. Results. Perioperative haemodynamic variables, concentrations of cardiac troponin I over the 48 h postoperative period, and clinical outcomes were assessed. There were no adverse effects related to levosimendan. Compared with control patients, levosimendan-treated patients had lower postoperative troponin I concentrations (P | |||||||||||||
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