PRECONDITIONING STIMULI AND INADVERTENT PRECONDITIONING

There are several factors besides brief episodes of total coronary occ lusion which can provide sufficient stress to result in a precondition ing-like effect on the size of a myocardial infarction. Partial corona ry artery stenosis, hypoxia, stretch, catecholamines, rapid pacing, an d certain pharmacologic therapies may provide preconditioning stimuli, These same factors as well as mechanical complications in which a cor onary artery is briefly occluded or stenosed prior to a subsequent cor onary occulsion may lead to inadvertent preconditioning and confound t he results of experimental cardiology studies.