Is cardioplegia system pressure the optimal measure of coronary perfusion during antegrade cardioplegia delivery? A critical review of pressure measurements for optimal antegrade delivery.

Antegrade cardioplegia is routinely given during cardiac surgery. The delivery of antegrade cardioplegia from the cardiopulmonary bypass machine has many variables. Many perfusionists rely exclusively on cardioplegia system pressure to ensure safe antegrade delivery. Our group reviewed antegrade cardioplegia delivery in 50 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft. The data collected included the cardioplegia system pressure and the patient's direct aortic root pressure. The analysis of the data found weak correlation between the two pressures with a large mean difference and a wide standard deviation. The results suggest the direct measurement of aortic root pressure as guidance to antegrade cardioplegia instead of relying solely on cardioplegia system pressure.