Online supplementary data

Material and methods

Surgical extraction of vein samples

For the saphenous vein harvesting, a single skin incision with a scalpel and manual exposure
and handling of the vein, avoiding traction and using only scissors and forceps, was performed.
No electrical scalpel was used, and the vein segment used in our experiments was neither
distended nor grasped with the forceps. For this purpose, the vein was cut into two segments: a
large one for the CABG; and a smaller one, destined for the experimental procedure, which was
immediately placed in cold normal saline solution and stored at 4ºC until processing in the lab.

Optimal basal tension

In order to establish the optimal basal tension for the development of maximum force, a series
of preliminary experiments were performed on saphenous vein rings of similar length (3 mm),
which were exposed to KCl (60 mM). Different basal tensions were applied starting from 1g to
5g. Once the resting tension was established, the ring was exposed to KCl (60 mM). The
optimal basal tension was the one that reached the maximal contraction to KCl. For saphenous
vein, the optimal basal tension was 3g.
Table S1: Patients’ demographics, risk factors and treatment before the CABG

Patients (n) 53

Age (mean, SD) 70.17 (8.92)

Male gender (n, %) 44 (83.01%)

Risk factors

Body mass index (mean, SD) 30.28 (SD 4.76)

Obesity (BMI >30) (n, %) 28 (52.83%)

Hypertension (n, %) 45 (84.91%)

Hypercholesterolemia (n, %) 34 (64.15%)

Diabetes mellitus (n, %) 32 (60.38%)

Smoking (n, %) 17 (32.08%)

Baseline treatment (n, %) 35 (63.03%)

Beta blockers (n, %) 23 (43.40%)

RAAS inhibitors (n, %) 32 (60.38%)

Calcium channel blockers (n, %) 14 (26.92%)

Nitrovasodilators (n, %) 3 (5.66%)

α-1 adrenergic blockers (n, %) 9 (16.98%)

Diuretics (n, %) 15 (28.30%)

Statins (n, %) 29 (54.72%)

Antidiabetic agents (n, %) 19 (35.85%)

SD, standard deviation; n: number of patients; BMI: body mass index; RAAS: renin-

angiotensin-aldosterone system (include angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and

angiotensin-receptor blockers (ARBs).

Schematic summary of organ bath experiments