Hydrogen Gas Protects Heart Blood Vessels During Bypass Surgery

Summary by Hydrogen Studies Editorial Team · Updated

Authors
Journal
PLoS One
Year
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0295862
Study Type
Rat
Outcome
Positive
Peer Reviewed
Yes
Country
Japan
Health Condition
Cardiovascular Disease
Body System
Cardiovascular

TL;DR

Breathing in hydrogen gas during and after heart-lung machine use can protect blood vessel linings in rats from damage and reduce inflammation.

Key Finding

Rats treated with 4% hydrogen gas during cardiopulmonary bypass showed significantly less damage to their blood vessel linings and lower inflammatory markers compared to untreated rats, with protective effects appearing to be dose-dependent.

Summary

This rat study tested whether hydrogen gas could protect blood vessel linings from damage caused by cardiopulmonary bypass (a heart-lung machine used during surgery). Rats were given either no hydrogen, 2% hydrogen, or 4% hydrogen gas during and after a 90-minute bypass procedure. The 4% hydrogen group showed thicker blood vessel linings and lower levels of inflammatory markers and oxidative stress (cellular damage from unstable molecules) compared to the control group, with results similar to rats that didn't undergo bypass at all.

Practical Takeaway

This is early animal evidence suggesting hydrogen gas may help protect blood vessels during heart surgery, but it comes from rat studies only and cannot yet be applied to humans. Much more research, including human trials, would be needed before any clinical recommendations could be made. The dose-dependent effect (4% worked better than 2%) is noted but requires further investigation.

Abstract (excerpt)

Cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) causes systemic inflammation and endothelial glycocalyx damage. Hydrogen has anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties; therefore, we hypothesized that hydrogen would alleviate endothelial glycocalyx damage caused by CPB. Twenty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were…

Read the full abstract via DOI