title: The role of myocardial ischaemic preconditioning during beating heart surgery: biological aspect and clinical outcome.
abstract: Short periods of ischaemia consecutive to reperfusion periods before a sustained ischaemic condition, the so-called ischaemic preconditioning (IP), aim to protect myocardial cells against prolonged ischaemia. IP appears as a considerable endogenous cardioprotective mechanism decreasing the infarct size after total occlusion in either experimental models or humans. Angina periods before an acute coronary syndrome limit the myocardial infarction being protective for the myocardium. Our report aims to review the international bibliography of the IP during off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting.
authors: Department of Cardiac Surgery,  University of Ioannina, School of Medicine, Ioannina,  Greece.
authors: Efstratios
authors: E
authors: Apostolakis
authors: Nikolaos G
authors: NG
authors: Baikoussis
authors: Nikolaos A
authors: NA
authors: Papakonstantinou
mesh_terms: D047549:Coronary Artery Bypass, Off-Pump; D006801:Humans; D007430:Intraoperative Care / Q000379:methods*; D019157:Ischemic Preconditioning, Myocardial / Q000379:methods*; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000601:surgery; D015428:Myocardial Reperfusion Injury / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*