Charles E. Ganote

The role of microvascular damage in the genesis of the "no-reflow" phenomenon was investigated in the left ventricular myocardium of dogs subjected to temporary occlusions of a major coronary artery for 40 and 90 min. Intravenous carbon black or thioflavin S (a fluorescent vital stain for endothelium) were used to demonstrate the distribution of coronary arterial flow in control and damaged myocardium. These tracers were injected simultaneously with release of the coronary occlusion or after 5 or 20 min of reflow of coronary arterial blood. After 40 min of ischemia plus arterial reperfusion, usually the tracers were evenly distributed throughout the damaged tissue at each time of reperfusion. On the other hand, when reflow was allowed after 90 min of ischemia, portions of the inner half of damaged myocardium were not penetrated by the tracers. Electron microscopic study of this poorly perfused tissue revealed severe capillary damage; endothelial cells with large intraluminal protrusions and decreased pinocytic vesicles were common. Also, occasional intraluminal fibrin thrombi were noted, as well as extravascular fibrin deposits and erythrocytes. Myocardial cells were swollen in both poorly perfused and well-perfused irreversibly injured tissue. Contraction bands and mitochondrial Ca(2+) accumulation were prominent features of irreversible injury with reflow at 40 min but were not noted after 90 min of ischemia in areas with poor perfusion. These results suggest that 40 min of ischemia were tolerated by the capillary bed of the dog heart without serious capillary damage or perfusion defects, but that 90 min of ischemic injury was associated with the "no-reflow" phenomenon, i.e., failure to achieve uniform reperfusion. This failure of reflow was associated with extensive capillary damage and myocardial cell swelling. Death of severely ischemic myocardial cells in this model occurs before the onset of capillary damage and the no-reflow phenomenon.

Changes produced in the posterior papillary muscle of the dog following 40 minutes of circumflex artery occlusion and 0 to 20 minutes of blood reflow were studied by electron miroscopy. With no reflow of blood, myocardial cells were modestly swollen, contained amorphous matrix densities in the mitochondria, had aggregation and margination of nuclear chromatin and relaxation of myofibrils. With as little as 2 minutes of blood reflow, cells developed contraction bands and were greatly swollen due to a generalized increase in sarcoplasmic space, formation of vacuoles and swelling of mitochondria. Frequently, cell membranes were lifted away from the myofibers, forming large subsarcolemmal blebs which appeared capable of compressing adjacent capillaries. The extracellular space did not appear to be enlarged, and the marked tissue edema found after reflow was due primarily to accumulation of intracellular fluid. In addition to explosive cell swelling, there was, over the 2- to 20-minute period of reflow, a progressive increase in size and number of granular mitochondrial dense bodies of the calcium accumulation type. No significant changes in lysosomes were observed. The speed with which the morphologic changes developed during very early reflow periods suggests that irreversible ischemic injury produces a defect in cell volume regulation during the phase of ischemia and that this defect becomes manifest if arterial flow is restored to the affected cells.

The effect of temporary periods of ischemia on the electrolytes and water of myocardial cells were studied in groups of mongrel dogs. Myocardial tissue exposed to 40 minutes of ischemia induced by occlusion of the circumflex branch of the left coronary artery developed no changes in water or electrolytes when compared to nonischemic left ventricle of the same or sham-operated animals, even though this period of ischemia is known to produce irreversible injury to many of the damaged cells. However, reperfusion of the affected myocardium with arterial blood for only 2 minutes resulted in striking increases in tissue H(2)O, Na(-), Cl(-) and Ca(2-). These changes in electrolytes increased in severity with longer periods of reflow, and tissue K(+) was decreased significantly after 10 minutes of reflow had passed. Analysis of the results suggested that the tissue edema was primarily the result of cellular swelling. Myocardium exposed to 15 minutes of ischemia followed by 2 minutes of reflow showed no significant changes aside from a slight increase in Na(+). These studies demonstrate that defects in cell volume regulation occur early in severe ischemic injury.

The subendocardial to subepicardial gradient in the severity of ischemia following acute coronary occlusion is described. The effects of mild, moderate, and severe ischemia on cell structure and function are compared in summary form, and special attention is given to the effects of severe ischemia on myocardial cells. The characteristics of reversible and irreversible ischemic injury are defined in biologic terms. The failure of cell volume regulation in cells which have entered an irreversible state of ischemic injury is demonstrated by the use of free-hand slices in vitro. Irreversibility is associated with structural defects in the plasma membrane and is reflected in an increased slice inulin-diffusible space, increased slice H2O and Na+ content, and failure of the tissue to maintain the high K+ and Mg2+ levels characteristic of normal left ventricular myocardium. Defective cell membrane function is an early feature of irreversible ischemic injury and may be a primary event in the genesis of the irreversible state.