Recent advances in the protective role of hydrogen sulfide in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury: a narrative review

Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) is recognized to be a novel mediator after carbon monoxide and nitric oxide in the organism. It can be produced in various mammalian tissues and exert many physiological effects in many systems including the cardiovascular system. A great amount of recent studies have demonstrated that endogenous H(2)S and exogenous H(2)S-releasing compounds (such as NaHS, Na(2)S, and GYY4137) provide protection in many cardiovascular diseases, such as ischemia/reperfusion injury, heart failure, cardiac hypertrophy, and atherosclerosis. In recent years, many mechanisms have been proposed and verified the protective role exhibited by H(2)S against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, and this review is to demonstrate the protective role of exogenous and endogenous H(2)S on myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury.