Using next-generation RNA sequencing to examine ischemic changes induced by cold blood cardioplegia on the human left ventricular myocardium transcriptome

Background The exact mechanisms that underlie the pathological processes of myocardial ischemia in humans are unclear. Cardiopulmonary bypass with cardioplegic arrest allows us to examine the whole transcriptional profile of human left ventricular myocardium at baseline and after exposure to cold cardioplegia induced ischemia as a human ischemia model.