Abstract Background Ischemic heart disease has attracted much attention due to its high mortality rates, treatment costs and the increasing morbidity in the young population. Strategies for reperfusion have reduced mortality. However, reperfusion can lead to cardiomyocyte death and subsequent irreversible myocardial damage. At present, the timely and targeted treatment of ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury is often lacking. Objectives To evaluate if dexmedetomidine (DEX) has a protective effect in myocardiual I/R and explore the possible mechanism behind it. Methods Rat hearts […]