Volatile anesthetics in cardiac surgery: the impalpable benefit

Abstract

Nowadays, there are numerous studies demonstrating that volatile anesthetics reduce mortality and morbidity with a cardio-protective effect. The mechanisms involved in protecting perioperative cardiac ischemic damage provided by desflurane and sevoflurane are not fully known. Volatile anesthetics are commonly used in cardiac surgery. This mini-review aims to summarize the mechanism of action for cardio-protection of volatile anesthetics and discuss the potential therapeutic implications. Human studies have shown that volatile anesthetics can reduce mortality, but also the use of mechanical ventilation in cardiac patients, especially coronary artery bypass grafting. In contrast, total intravenous anesthesia has not shown any significant benefit compared to halogenated agents. Volatile anesthetics are among the few drugs that affect survival in the perioperative period. In addition, they can be administered in areas other than cardiac surgery due to their cardioprotective effects, which may add future perspectives in their use