Cardioprotective Effects of the Vasodilator/ Beta-Adrenoceptor Blocker, Carvedilol, in Two Models of Myocardial Infarction in the Rat

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cardioprotective effects of carvedilol, a β-adrenergic blocker and vasodilator, in two models of ischemic myocardial damage in the rat. Following coronary artery occlusion for 0.5 h and reperfusion for 24 h (MI/R group), left ventricular (LV) injury was determined by planimetric analysis of triphenyltetrazolium chloride-stained tissue, and polymorphonuclear leukocyte infiltration was assessed by measuring myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. In the vehicle-treated MI/R group, infarct size was 14.2 ± 1.3% of the LV (n = 16), and MPO activity was increased to 2.8 ± 0.7 from 0.14 ± 0.03 U/g tissue in the vehicle-treated sham-occluded group (p