Efforts to prevent ischemic injury have focussed on finding ways to block events associated with irreversible ischemic injury. In 1986, Murrey et al described a classic phenomenon termed ischemic preconditioning (IPC) for the first time. It was originally thought that each ischemic episode caused cumulative ATP depletion while the intermittent reperfusion would wash out the ischemic catabolites.Surprisingly ATP levels were not depleted by subsequent ischemic challenges and no infarction occurred. This observation led the same group of scientists to test the hypothesis that the preservation of high-energy phosphates was due to a slowing of consumption during ischemia associated with a rapid and protective adaptation of the myocyte. They tested this hypothesis by subjecting the myocardium to a series of four 5-min coronary branch occlusions; each separated by 5 min of reperfusion. This rendered the myocardium more resistant to the subsequent sustained 40-min ischemic insult. The infarct size was reduced to 25 % of that seen in control group. This phenomenon is called preconditioning with ischemia.
Preconditioning of the myocardium with short episodes of sublethal ischemia will delay the onset of necrosis during a subsequent lethal ischemic insult. It has also been shown that the protective effect of IPC is thought to be stimulated by local action of adenosine, opiates and bradykinin which are all endogenously released by ischemic cells. They activate G-protein coupled pathways, which carries a protective signal to an end-effector. There have been many suggestions to what this might be, the sarcolemmal ATP-sensitive potassium channel, the mitochondrial ATP-sensitive potassium channel, the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, reactive oxygen species generation. Ischemic preconditioning seems to involve a variety of stress signals which include activation of membrane receptors and signaling molecules such as protein kinase C, mitogen-activated protein kinases, opening of ATP-sensitive potassium channel, and expression of many protective proteins.