Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Interventional cardiology

Ischaemic POSTconditioning—a long harvest for a little corn

In the POST trial, mechanical ischaemic postconditioning did not have a significant cardioprotective effect in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. However, the sample size, the principal end point (ST-segment regression), and the postconditioning protocol used are important limitations in this trial. Whether mechanical postconditioning has cardioprotective clinical benefits remains unanswered.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Factors affecting ischaemic postconditioning.

References

  1. Lonborg, J. et al. Cardioprotective effects of ischemic postconditioning in patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention, evaluated by magnetic resonance. Circ. Cardiovasc. Interv. 3, 34–41 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Thuny, F. et al. Post-conditioning reduces infarct size and edema in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. J. Am. Coll. Cardiol. 59, 2175–2181 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Yellon, D. M. & Hausenloy, D. J. Myocardial reperfusion injury. N. Engl. J. Med. 357, 1121–1135 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Heusch, G. Cardioprotection: chances and challenges of its translation to the clinic. Lancet 381, 166–175 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Hahn, J. Y. et al. Ischemic postconditioning during primary percutaneous coronary intervention: the POST randomized trial. Circulation 128, 1889–1896 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Thielmann, M. et al. Cardioprotective and prognostic effects of remote ischaemic preconditioning in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery: a single-centre randomised, double-blind, controlled trial. Lancet 382, 597–604 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Nijveldt, R. et al. Early electrocardiographic findings and MR imaging-verified microvascular injury and myocardial infarct size. JACC Cardiovasc. Imaging 2, 1187–1194 (2009).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Stone, G. W. et al. Distal microcirculatory protection during percutaneous coronary intervention in acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA 293, 1063–1072 (2005).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Puymirat, E. et al. Association of changes in clinical characteristics and management with improvement in survival among patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction. JAMA 308, 998–1006 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Skyschally, A., Walter, B. & Heusch, G. Coronary microembolization during early reperfusion: infarct extension, but protection by ischaemic postconditioning. Eur. Heart J. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehs434.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michel Ovize.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

PowerPoint slides

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ovize, M., Mewton, N. Ischaemic POSTconditioning—a long harvest for a little corn. Nat Rev Cardiol 11, 8–10 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2013.173

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrcardio.2013.173

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing