Levosimendan preconditioning in patients undergoing elective cardiac surgery with poor ejection fraction. preliminary results.

Background and Aims Left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) represents a risk factor for the development of low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS) resulting in a high mortality in patients undergoing cardiac surgery, Levosimendan is a drug with inotropic, vasodilatory and organ-protective properties, often used in heart failure and low cardiac output patients. We study the effects of preoperative levosimendan administration (PLA) in patients with LVSD undergoing elective cardiac surgery on LCOS development and other secondary post-surgery outcomes