Protective effect of nifedipine on myocardial stunning in isolated rabbit hearts: Role of high energy phosphates stores

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of a single dose of nifedipine on myocardial stunning in isolated rabbit hearts. Hearts from rabbits pretreated with a single dose of 20 mg of nifedipine (NIF group) 1-4 h before isolation were compared to control hearts in their response to 15 min of global ischemia (37°C) followed by 30 min of reperfusion. Both experimental groups showed similar baseline cardiac contractility. At the end of the reperfusion period in the control group, isovolumic left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) and +dp/dt(max) had stabilized at 45 ± 2 and 48 ± 2% of preischemic values respectively and in the NIF group LVDP stabilized at 63 ± 6 and +dP/dt(max) at 66 ± 6% (P<0.05 with respect to the control group). Left ventricular end diastolic pressure (LVEDP) values were significantly lower at the end of reperfusion in the NIF group compared to the controls (36.8 ± 5.5 mmHg vs 53.4 ± 3.9 mmHg, P<0.05). The early impairment of the time constant of relaxation (τ) observed in control hearts was attenuated by pretreatment with nifedipine (control Δτ = 55 ± 10 ms; NIF group Δτ = 29 ± 5 ms, P<0.05). Tissue ATP and creatine phosphate (CP) levels in the control group at the end of reperfusion were 6.9 ± 0.7 and 8.7 ± 0.7 μmol/g dry tissue, respectively; in the NIF group ATP and CP levels were significantly higher, 9.2 ± 0.7 and 11.5 ± 0.9 μmol/g dry tissue respectively (P<0.05). Creatine kinase (CK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) leakage during reperfusion were significantly higher in the control group (CK = 120 ± 15 mU/ml and LDH = 60 ± 8 mU/ml) compared to the NIF group (CK = 82 ± 5 mU/ml and LDH = 41 ± 2 mU/ml, P<0.05). Our results demonstrate that pretreatment with a single oral dose (20 mg) of nifedipine attenuates systolic and diastolic functional alterations as well as the metabolic impairment associated with stunning in the isolated rabbit heart.