Hydrogen Gas During Heart Surgery Improves Recovery and Blood Function
- Authors
- Anna Vaycheslavovna Deryugina, Darya Andreevna Danilova, Yurii Dmitrievich Brichkin, Evgenii Vladimirovich Taranov, Evgenii Ivanovich Nazarov, Vladimir Viktorovich Pichugin, Aleksandr Pavlovich Medvedev, Michail Valerevich Riazanov, Sergey Andreevich Fedorov, Andrej Yurevich Smorkalov, Evgenii Vladimirovich Makarov
- Journal
- Medical Gas Research
- Year
- 2023
- DOI
- 10.4103/2045-9912.356473
- Study Type
- Human
- Outcome
- Positive
- Peer Reviewed
- Yes
- Country
- Russia
- Health Condition
- Heart Valve Disease
- Body System
- Cardiovascular
TL;DR
Breathing in molecular hydrogen during heart valve surgery may improve red blood cell function and heart muscle performance after the operation.
Key Finding
Heart surgery patients who inhaled molecular hydrogen gas during cardiopulmonary bypass surgery showed improved red blood cell function and reduced oxidative stress compared to control patients, with better heart muscle recovery in the early postoperative period.
Summary
In this study of 24 heart surgery patients, researchers tested whether breathing molecular hydrogen gas during surgery could protect red blood cells (the cells that carry oxygen in blood) from damage. Patients who breathed hydrogen gas (mixed with anesthesia) during surgery showed improvements in red blood cell function and had less oxidative stress (a type of cellular damage) compared to patients who did not receive hydrogen. The hydrogen-treated patients also showed better heart muscle function recovery in the days after surgery.
Practical Takeaway
This small clinical study suggests hydrogen gas may have protective effects during cardiac surgery, but the findings are preliminary and limited to the surgical setting with anesthesia. More research in larger patient groups is needed to confirm these results and determine whether hydrogen might have benefits outside of surgery. This study does not support using hydrogen water or other hydrogen products without medical supervision.
Abstract
Molecular hydrogen (H2) has been considered a preventive and therapeutic medical gas in numerous diseases. The study aimed to investigate the potential role of molecular hydrogen as a component of anesthesia in surgical treatment with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) of acquired valve defects on the functional state of red blood cells (RBC) and functional indicators of cardiac activity. This clinical trial was conducted with 20 patients referring to the Specialized Cardiosurgical Clinical Hospital, Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation, who underwent elective surgery with CPB. Twenty-four patients were randomly assigned to two groups. First group included 12 patients (research group) who received H2 at a concentration of 1.5-2.0% through a facemask using a breathing circuit of the ventilator together with anesthesia immediately after tracheal intubation and throughout the operation. Second group (control group) included 12 patients who were not given H2. Blood samples were withdrawn from peripheral veins and radial artery at four stages: immediately after the introduction of anesthesia (stage 1), before the start of CPB (stage 2), immediately after its termination (stage 3) and 24 hours after the operation (the early postoperative period) (stage 4). An increase in electrophoretic mobility, an increase in the metabolism of red blood cells, and a decrease in the aggregation of red blood cells relative to the corresponding indicators of the control group were observed in the research group. Patients in the research group had a decrease in oxidative stress manifestations most pronounced one day after the operation. There was a statistically significant difference between the indicators of myocardial contractile function in the research and control group on the 1st and 3rd days after surgery. H2 inhalation leads to improvement of functional state of red blood cells, which is accompanied by a more favorable course of the early postoperative period. These data show the presence of protective properties of molecular hydrogen.