Apoptosis is not involved in the mechanism of myocardial dysfunction after resuscitation in a rat model of cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the presence of apoptosis after the global myocardial ischemia of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and the regional myocardial ischemia after left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion and relate it to the severity of postresuscitation myocardial dysfunction. DESIGN Prospective animal study. SETTING University-affiliated animal research laboratory. SUBJECTS Male Sprague-Dawley rats. INTERVENTIONS Fifteen male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 450-550 g were randomized to: (1) 8 mins of untreated cardiac arrest followed by 6 mins of cardiopulmonary resuscitation; (2)left anterior descending coronary artery occlusion for 45 mins followed by 4 hrs of reperfusion; and (…