The effect of remote ischaemic preconditioning on lowering postoperative myocardial troponin I release in children with congenital heart disease undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass.

INTERVENTION: Preconditioning as a method of myocardial protection at the time of repair of congenital heart disease. Patients will be randomised to control or remote ischaemic preconditioning. The remote ischaemic preconditioning protocol will be by 4 cycles of 5 minutes of lower limb ischaemia induced by inflating a blood pressure cuff to 15 mmHg greater than systolic blood pressure placed around the thigh, followed by 5 minutes of reperfusion. CONDITION: Congenital heart disease witithin neonates PRIMARY OUTCOME: Postoperative levels of troponin I will be measured from blood samples SECONDARY OUTCOME: Cardiac output, lung function, systemic inflammatory response. Inflammatory response in the form of blood levels of TNF‐alpha. INCLUSION CRITERIA: Neonates undergoing open heart surgery for repair of congenital defects will be recruited. Specifically, children undergoing the arterial switch procedure and the Norwood procedure will be studied.