Ischemic preconditioning in coronary heart disease: a therapeutic golden fleece?

reconditioning is the process by which brief, repetitive pisodes of ischemia reduce the size of a subsequent yocardial infarction. Since the discovery of ischemic preonditioning by Murry et al. (1) almost two decades ago, housands of studies have pursued its mechanism(s) and ought therapeutic realization of this unique adaptive reponse to a physiologic stress. Although mechanistic undertanding has progressed, translation into clinical utility has een elusive. Indeed, the pursuit of this goal has been akin o a modern version of Jason’s quest for the Golden Fleece.