Retrograde coronary venous perfusion at low pressure.

The effectiveness of localized retrograde coronary venous perfusion (RCVP) in preventing or reversing myocardial ischemia after acute ligation of a coronary artery is described. Ten domestic pigs (Group I) underwent aorto left anterior coronary vein grafting with RCVP at systemic pressure. In another set of ten pigs (Group II), the coronary vein was similarly grafted, but the proximal end of the graft was perfused with oxygenated blood by means of an external pump at reduced pressure and flow.