Definition of "reperfusion" [reperfusion]

• The restoration of blood flow to an organ or tissue that has had its blood supply cut off, as after a heart attack. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Becker views cell death in cardiac arrest as a two-step process, beginning with oxygen deprivation, which sets up the cell for apoptosis; then the heart starts up again and the patient gets a lungful of oxygen, triggering what is called reperfusion injury."
• "When a heart attack victim is revived after losing a pulse, a cascade of new health complications can begin in what is known as a reperfusion injury."
• "Despite this, most MI patients suffer additional irreversible cardiac muscle cell loss, ironically as a result of these treatments - a condition known as reperfusion injury."