Pathophysiology of myocardial infarction: protection by ischemic pre- and postconditioning.

One or several short cycles of ischemia/reperfusion before (preconditioning) or after (postconditioning) a sustained coronary occlusion with subsequent reperfusion reduce the ultimate infarct size. The protection is potent, but limited to a narrow time frame. In animal experiments, a complex signal transduction cascade was identified which results specifically in a reduction of reperfusion injury. There is evidence for both ischemic pre- and postconditioning in patients with coronary artery disease.