Evaluation of Pro-Inflammatory Leukocyte Activity in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery

The goal of this proposal is to prospectively collect data from a series of 200 patients (all ages) undergoing complex cardiac surgical procedures involving cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) to: 1. Measure the number of blood activated circulating monocytes before, during and after cardiac surgery and serum GABA and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels 2. Understand the correlation between GABA and inflammatory cytokines (and/or activated monocytes) and 3. Assess the correlation between thrombosis and monocyte activation in patients undergoing cardiac surgery under CPB and at risk of thrombosis.