P1696Effect of remote ischemic preconditioning on vascular dilator function in patient undergoing invasive coronary procedure

Background: Previous studies showed favorable effects of remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) on endothelial function. In this study we aimed to 1) assess the effects of RIPC on endothelial dysfunction induced by interventional coronary procedures; 2) evaluate whether these effects of RIPS might be different in patients with stable vs. unstable coronary syndromes; 3) investigate whether the effects of RIPC on procedure-induced endothelium dysfunction might be mediated by effects on subclinical inflammation. Methods: We studied 62 patients undergoing elective coronary angiography because of a suspect of stable angina (30 patients) or because of no-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTE-ACS) (32 patients). Patients were randomly assigned to undergo RIPC (3 short episodes of forearm ischemia, separated by 5 minutes of reperfusion) or sham RIPC (controls) immediately before the coronary procedure. Endothelium-dependent dilator function was assessed by flow-mediated dilatation (FMD). Endothelium-independent dilator function was assessed by nitrate-mediated dilatation (NMD). FMD and NMD were measured the day before the coronary procedure and 24 hours after the invasive procedure.