Early Cardioprotective Effect of Sevoflurane

In vitro studies and in vivo animal experiments have shown that halogenated volatile anesthetics have a protective effect on the ischemic myocardium. In clinical settings however, anesthetic preconditioning may be of more interest. The aim of our study was to evaluate the cardioprotective effect of sevoflurane in patients undergoing off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery. We proposed that a cardioprotective effect of sevoflurane would save myocardial function, which we measured acceleration by esophageal Doppler and cardiac index with bolus thermodilution methods, both during brief ischemia and reperfusion.