Ischemic diseases of heart:
Ischemia is a major concern to almost all organs and heart is not an
exception. The heart pumps the blood to whole body but the amount of
blood it receives is very merger when compared to other organs. This
accounts for only 4 to 5% of the total blood volume and major part of
perfusion occurs during diastole. These factors make the heart
vulnerable to ischemia. One of the most common causes of ischemia is MI.
It ranges from milder form like Angina where ischemia is almost always
reversible to the severe form MI were there is infarction due to
ischemia. A newer concept in this field is the role of purines and
pyrimidines released at the site of injury. These were initially thought
to be detrimental but later on some studies also showed protective
effect. ATP plays a detrimental role in Ischemic injury. P2Y12 receptor
antagonists play a role in prevention of ischemic stroke and MI
[17]. So, this might play a role in development of future
therapeutics other than the existing ones.