Remote Ischemic Conditioning

Remote ischemic conditioning is an experimental medical procedure that aims to reduce the severity of ischemic injury to an organ such as the heart or brain, most commonly around a heart attack or stroke or during heart surgery when the heart may temporarily suffer ischemia, by triggering the body's natural protection against tissue injury. It works through repeated, temporary cessation of blood flow to a limb, creating ischemia in that tissue that activates the body's protective response against reperfusion injury, an effect described as mimicking the cardioprotective effects of exercise. The procedure remains experimental in humans; initial small studies were not replicated in larger clinical trials by 2015, but two large studies completed in 2023 renewed interest in the technique with positive results.