The mean of the term "cardioplegia" is "lesion, attack, wound or blow", very different to how its is most commonly understood in most heart centers, where it relates to cardiac protection. Thus, "cardioplegic solution" is better defined as a solution capable of inducing cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest induced by cardioplegic solutions can occur by hyperpolarizaton, depolarization or by inhibiting the calcium channels of the myocardial fibers. This paper discusses hyperpolarizing cardioplegic solutions, which arrest the heart in the diastolic phase, thus decreasing the ATP depletion and improving the conditions of the heart to be reanimated at the end of the procedure.
Cardioplegic solutions; Heart arrest, induced; Myocardium