Ischemic Preconditioning and Warm-up Phenomenon

Prodromal angina pectoris is defined as angina or ischemic episode which is seen before the beginning of acute myocardial infarction is and shown to be beneficial in the course of disease after myocardial infarction. Although the exact mechanism of beneficial effects of prodromal angina is not known. Ischemic preconditioning is the most accepted mechanism. Ischemic preconditioning is defined as preparation of the myocardium against ischemia to limit the infarct size as a result of preinfarction ischemic attacks. Determination of the exact mechanism of ischemic preconditioning and understanding this beneficial protection is important from. The view point of refraining from use of drugs preventing the beneficial effects of ischemic preconditioning (e.g. sulfonylurea) and of the development of current treatment methods such as "preconditioning mimetics" in the high-risk patient population.