Effects of remote ischemic preconditioning on the flow pattern of the left anterior descending coronary artery in normal subjects

Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) has been proposed as an effective method to improve both myocardial and vascular protection in human beings. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of RIPC on the flow pattern of left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) by transthoracic Doppler echocardiography. 18 normal male volunteers were enrolled to this study. The Doppler signals of flow velocity were recorded at baseline, 1, 3, 6 and 9 min after reperfusion of each cycle to identify the effect of RIPC on the flow pattern of the LAD. In the study, the coronary mean velocity, peak diastolic velocity and mean diastolic velocity were increased (all P<0.05) in the first 3 min of reperfusion of each cycle while peak systolic velocity, mean systolic velocity and heart rate did not change compared with the baseline readings throughout RIPC. And the maximal coronary flow velocity was observed at the first minute of the second reperfusion. The result of this study proves that remote ischemic preconditioning produces hyperemia via the LAD during early reperfusion, which is characterized by an increase in diastolic flow velocity. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.