Protective effects of preconditioning of the ischaemic myocardium involve cyclo-oxygenase products

Abstract

Short, preconditioning periods of myocardial ischaemia protect the myocardium against the arrhythmogenic effects of a more prolonged occlusion. That this protection is lost if the cyclo-oxygenase pathway is blocked suggests a protective role for prostanoids, most likely prostacyclin, as endogenous myocardial protective substances.