BACKGROUND Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) is the application of a transient and brief ischemic stimulus to a distant site from the organ or tissue that is afterward exposed to injury ischemia, and has been found to reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in various animal models. RIPC appears to offer two distinct phases of endothelial IRI protection, which are presumably mediated thro...

Aging is worldwide recognized as a dominant risk factor for most forms of cardiovascular disease [1-3]. However, mechanisms by which it exerts its role and determines poor outcome have been only partially clarified. Numerous evidence indicate that aging is associated with alteration of several mechanisms whose integrity confers protective action on the heart and vasculature [5-9]. Autonomic sta...

INTRODUCTION Myocardial injury after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) occurs in approximately 30% of procedures, and is related to worse prognosis. Effects of remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) on reperfusion injury have been investigated before, yielding conflicting results. AIM To assess the impact of a single episode of RIPC on myocardial injury after elective PCI. MATERIAL A...