Remote Ischemic Preconditioning in Cardiac Surgery — Ineffective and Risky?

Every year millions of patients undergo cardiac surgery, which may be associated with short- and long-term cardiovascular complications in as many as 20% of patients. Although the perioperative care of patients undergoing cardiac surgery has become highly sophisticated and is facilitated by the availability of guidelines, there is ample room to improve clinical outcomes. However, the search for a magic bullet — a cardioprotective strategy that could be successfully administered in addition to the current standard treatment to provide additional benefits — is tantalizing but frustrating, as evidenced by the negative results of two trials of remote ischemic preconditioning in . . .