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Updated: May 27, 2026
Remote Limb Ischemic Preconditioning: A Neuroprotective Technique in Rodents
Published on: June 2, 2015
Remote ischaemic preconditioning reduces myocardial injury in patients undergoing heart valve surgery: randomised
Jian-Jiang Xie1, Xiao-Long Liao, Wen-Guang Chen
1Surgery/Cardiothoracic, Guangzhou First Municipal People's Hospital, Guangzhou Institute of Clinical Medicine, Guangzhou Medical College, Guangzhou, PR China.
Objective:
To determine whether remote ischaemic preconditioning (RIPC) is cardioprotective in patients undergoing heart valve replacement.
Design:
Single-blinded, randomised controlled trial.
Setting:
Tertiary referral hospital in China.
Patients:
Adult patients (31-72 years) undergoing mitral valve, aortic valve or tricuspid valve surgery.
Interventions:
Patients were randomised to either the RIPC (n=38) or control (n=35) group. After induction of anaesthesia, patients in the RIPC group underwent three 5 min cycles of right upper limb ischaemia, induced by an automated cuff-inflator placed on the upper arm and inflated to 200 mm Hg. Each cycle was interrupted by a 5 min period of reperfusion during which time the cuff was deflated. The control group had only a deflated cuff placed on the upper arm for 30 min.
Main Outcome Measures:
Serum troponin I concentration was measured before surgery and at 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h postoperatively. The cardiac function of all patients was followed postoperatively.
Results:
Troponin I concentration was reduced in the RIPC group (398.7±179.3 μg/l) compared with the control group (708.4±242.5 μg/l). Mean difference was 309.7±50.8 (95% CI 210.1 to 409.3, p<0.0001). A greater improvement in postsurgical cardiac function was noted in the RIPC group than in the control group.
Conclusions:
These data indicate that RIPC reduces myocardial injury and improves cardiac function in patients undergoing heart valve surgery.
Trial Registration Number:
NCT01175681.
