Safety and feasibility of selective intracoronary hypothermia in acute myocardial infarction

Abstract

Selective hypothermia of the infarct area by intracoronary infusion of saline provides a novel method to reduce coronary temperature quickly and guarantee local myocardial hypothermia. In anterior wall myocardial infarctions, the protocol appeared safe, without serious haemodynamic or systemic side effects. In inferior wall myocardial infarctions, transient conduction abnormalities of short duration occurred. Potentially, selective intracoronary delivery of hypothermia could attenuate reperfusion injury caused by traditional PPCI.