Objective: To identify the protective effects of hypovolemic hypotension preconditioning on cardiopulmonary function after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and to explore the possible mechanism.Methods: Twenty-four male white rabbits were randomly assigned to two groups. In the control group, ischemia/reperfusion animals(Group I/R, n=10) were subjected to thirty-minute occlusion of left anterior descending coronary artery and two-hour reperfusion. Animals in hypovolemic hypotension preconditioning group (Group HHP, n=14) experienced brief systemic ischemia preconditioning through blood withdrawl to lower blood pressure to 40%-50% of the baseline before myocardial ischemia/reperfusion. Hemodynamic parameters were recorded. Blood sample was taken to measure superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitrogen monoxide (NO) changes with blood gas analysis. Myocardium specimens were sampled to examine apoptosis-related gene interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme (ICE) mRNA. Results: Cardiac mechanical function and lung gas exchange remained stable in Group HHP with a significant increase in NO level; while in Group I/R without preconditioning, cardiopulmonary dysfunction was present after 2 h reperfusion associated with a significant reduction in NO formation and an increase in MDA (P