Comparison of in-hospital course of patients having first acute myocardial infarction with or without pre-infarct angina

ABSTRACT

Background: Acute myocardial infarction [AMI] is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality and to reduce myocardial infarct size a new technique i.e. ischemic pre-conditioning has evolved. The brief periods of ischemia followed by re-perfusion appear to pre-condition the heart and make it more resistant to a subsequent longer period of ischemia. Pre-conditioning is defined as "a rapid, adaptive response to a brief ischemic insult, which slows the rate of cell death during a subsequent, prolonged period of ischemia"