Preventive Administration of Melatonin Attenuates Electrophysiological Consequences of Myocardial Ischemia

The effect of preventive administration of melatonin on the arrhythmogenic substrate in the myocardium was studied in the rabbit model of acute ischemia/reperfusion in vivo . The animals treated with melatonin 60 min before ischemia induction had shorter median activation time compared to the control group ( p =0.039), less pronounced shortening of repolarization durations in the ischemic zone during coronary occlusion ( p =0.008), and more complete recovery of repolarization during reperfusion ( p =0.027). In the melatonin group, the dispersion of repolarization was less than in the control group during both ischemic period ( p =0.043) and reperfusion ( p =0.038). Thus, preventive administration of melatonin mitigated the arrhythmogenic substrate in the heart under conditions of ischemia/reperfusion.