ABSTRACT
This Chapter addresses the factors which may influence the selection of the method of cardioplegia delivery: the nutritive capacity and the regional myocardial distribution of retro grade and ntegrade cardioplegia. The first section focuses on recent data from our group,4,5 and compares the physiology of retrograde and antegrade cardioplegia delivery with respect to microvascular and nutritive flow, and their relation to myocardial cooling. Additionally, because the magnitude and regional distribution of cardioplegia flow may affect the choice of the route of delivery, the second section outlines the role that myocardial contrast echocardiography may have in the intraoperative assessment o f cardioplegia flow to the myocardium.
