Fig. 3. Time course of left ventricular pressure (LVP) for each of the five groups. Sevoflurane exposure caused a completely reversible decrease in systolic LVP. 5-Hydroxydecanoate (5-HD) before, during, and after sevoflurane exposure did not alter this decrease; 5-HD alone did not change LVP significantly. Diastolic LVP increased similarly in each ischemic group during the final 5 min of ischemia. After 30 min of reperfusion, anesthetic preconditioning (APC) hearts exhibited higher systolic LVP and a lower elevation of diastolic LVP compared with untreated ischemic control hearts (ISC), APC+5-HD, and 5-HD hearts. See figure 2for statistical symbols.