Type of Cardioplegia and Its Application May Not Explain Improvements in Cardiac Surgery Outcomes during the Last Two Decades

Background: Cardiac surgery has made tremendous achievements once cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) was able to support circulation and cardioplegia was able to protect the arrested heart during the operative procedure. Continuous improvements made surgery better and safer until today, despite significant changes in today's patient profiles (i.e., advanced age, higher likelihood of comorbidities). With cardioplegic arrest being a key component of avoiding ischemic damage to the heart from the operative procedure, we aimed to assess the role of cardioplegia in most recent outcomes.