Patients who experience hemorrhagic myocardial infarctions (hMIs) have increased risk of adverse outcomes, yet a protective therapy remains to be developed. We hypothesized that mild hypothermia to the heart can reduce the effects of hemorrhage and improve left ventricular functional recovery in the setting of reperfused infarctions. This was studied using a swine model of hemorrhagic infarction exposed to cooled pericardial saline infusion to confer hypothermia. Results show a significant decrease in hemorrhagic remnants and increase in LVEF for the hypothermia group relative to controls at 1 month post-MI. Therapeutic cooling has the potential to offer cardioprotective benefits for hMI.
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