The Central Nervous System: Responses to Cardiopulmonary Bypass

Abstract

Despite innovative medical treatment regimens involving new classes and types of drugs and interventional cardiology techniques such as intracoronary balloon and laser angioplasty, definitive treatment of refractory ischemic heart disease still necessitates surgical revascularization and cardiopulmonary bypass ({CPB}). It is estimated that over 300,000 coronary artery bypass graft ({CABG}) procedures are performed annually in the United States,1 and over 450,000 such procedures are performed annually worldwide.