Myocardial protection during normothermia

The concept of myocardial protection has been continuously evolving since its introduction in the early 1950s. Although numerous scientific works have been published from the first experiments with cold crystalloid cardioplegia to the most recent findings on warm, enriched blood cardioplegia, many controversies are still open to determine which is the most adequate of myocardial protection. The revolutionary concept of "warm heart surgery", as introduced by Salerno et al. in the early 90's, should be reinterpreted and adopted as a precious adjunct to the other methods of myocardial protection. Many modifications to this original idea have been proposed through the years showing that only a more comprehensive cardioprotective strategy can always ensure surgical results.