The Infarct-Limiting Effect of Remote Ischemic Conditioning in Rats Is Not Affected by Aspirin

PurposeRemote ischemic conditioning (RIC) has been shown to be a powerful cardioprotective therapy in animal models. However, a protective effect in patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction has failed to be confirmed. A recent pre-clinical study reported that aspirin which is routinely given to patients undergoing reperfusion therapy blocked the infarct-limiting effect of ischemic postconditioning. The present study was designed to test whether aspirin could also be blocking the infarct-limiting effect of RIC.MethodsThis was investigated in vivo using male Sprague Dawley rats (n = 5 to 6 per group) subjected to either 30 min of regional myocardial ischemia, followed by 120-min reperfusion, or additionally to a RIC protocol initiated after 20-min myocardial ischemia. The RIC protocol included four cycles of 5-min hind limb ischemia interspersed with 5-min reperfusion. Intravenous aspirin (30 mg/kg) or vehicle (saline) was administered after 15-min myocardial ischemia.ResultsRIC significantly reduced infarct size (IS) normalized to the area at risk, by 47%. Aspirin administration did not affect IS nor did it attenuate the infarct-limiting effect of RIC.ConclusionAspirin administration in the setting of myocardial infarction is not likely to interfere with the cardioprotective effect of RIC.

Automated summary

This study aimed to investigate the impact of aspirin on remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) in the treatment of myocardial infarction. The results showed that aspirin did not affect the infarct-limiting effect of RIC.