Abstract
Summary
The isolated rat heart was studied to determine if pretreatment with the glucocorticoid, methylprednisolone (30 mg/kg), both afforded protection to the heart during a period of hypoxia and improved recovery during reoxygenation. Hearts from rats treated with methylprednisolone sodium succinate exhibited significantly better force of contraction during the period of reoxygenation than did hearts from vehicle-treated rats. This improved recovery of the steroidtreated group was seen in the presence or absence of glucose and was not related to a steroid-induced positive inotropism or en hanced total coronary flow. However, the possibility exists that methylprednisolone pretreatment was associated with a favorable redistribution of coronary blood flow and as such produced a protective effect on the hypoxic heart.
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