Ischemic preconditioning, myocardial stunning and anesthesia

Brief periods of ischemia have been shown to protect the heart against a subsequent prolonged ischemic insult, a phenomenon known as ischemic preconditioning. The protective effects of preconditioning markedly reduce myocardial ischemic injury in vivo. Volatile anesthetics have been shown to protect myocardium against infarction by a mechanism similar to that of ischemic preconditioning. Contractile dysfunction occurs after a brief period of myocardial ischemia, despite restoration of coronary blood flow in the absence of tissue necrosis. This process is known as myocardial stunning and has important clinical ramifications. Evidence indicates that adenosine triphosphate-regulated potassium channel function plays a central role in ischemic preconditioning, stunned myocardium, and in anesthetic-induced protection against ischemic injury.