title: Ischemic preconditioning: the endogenous power--a review of the literature.
abstract: With the re-emergence of surgery on a beating heart, it is important to examine the unique phenomenon of ischemic preconditioning (IPC) and its role as a form of myocardial protection under these circumstances. Ischemic preconditioning is defined as a short period of ischemia, regional or global, imposed before a more prolonged period of ischemia, which increases the myocardium's tolerance to ischemia by endogenous adaptive mechanism. Until recently, it was generally held that repeated ischemic episodes would have a cumulative adverse effect and could lead to a "stuttering infarction."
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiac Surgery, College of Medicine, King Khaled University Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Alsaddique
mesh_terms: D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D019157:Ischemic Preconditioning, Myocardial; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017682:Myocardial Stunning / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism