AIM: To investigate the effects of human urotensin II (hUII) on ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in isolated rat hearts. METHODS: In the ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) model of isolated perfused rat hearts,the effects of hUII pretreatment on cardiac function was monitored with cardiac function software of MFL Lab200. ATP,total calcium,and malondialdehyde (MDA) content in myocardium were detected. The coronary perfusion flow (CPF) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in coronary effluent were measured during reperfusion. RESULTS: In the hUII pretreated group,the release of LDH from myocardium was lower [(78.3?18.1)U/L] than I/R group [(109.3?23.9) U/L,P