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The coronary arteries are the major blood vessels supplying the heart, which may become narrowed or obstructed under abnormal conditions, leading to myocardial ischemia, an insufficient supply of blood to the heart. If untreated, ischemia may result in myocardial infarction, or heart attack, which involves deterioration of heart tissue. Providing the coronary artery with a nutrient-containing fluid in a procedure called autoperfusion has been shown to improve short episodes of ischemia during coronary angioplasty, a procedure for repairing the obstructed coronary artery. The effectiveness of autoperfusion in protecting the heart after prolonged coronary artery occlusion was examined in 24 dogs. Thirteen dogs were subjected to coronary artery occlusion alone, whereas 11 dogs were treated with autoperfusion. The area receiving insufficient blood supply was similar in size in both groups. However, the area of deteriorating or infarcted tissue was greater in the group of animals that were not autoperfused than in the group receiving autoperfusion. The results show that autoperfusion of the coronary artery for six hours after coronary artery occlusion does not prevent, but reduces the extent of deterioration of the heart tissue in the dog model. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)