Ischemic Postconditioning in STEMI Patients Treated With Primary PCI

Myocardial reperfusion with the use primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is effective, but restoration of blood flow may itself jeopardize the myocardium, a phenomenon known as reperfusion injury. In ischemic postconditioning (iPOST), repetitive interruptions of blood flow to the injured region applied after initial reperfusion, has been shown favorable with different modalities such as biomarkers, echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance. However, the largest trial to date (DANAMI3-iPOST) failed to show clinical favor of iPOST when compared to conventional PCI. Importantly, however, in DANAMI3-iPOST thrombectomy was allowed and this might have impaired postconditioning, since thrombectomy itself creates reperfusion and thus reperfusion damage. Analysis of the fraction of DANAMI3-iPOST patients not undergoing thrombectomy showed a remarkable 45% reduction in death and heart failure in favor of postconditioning. iPOST2 will investigate in a randomized, prospective and adequately powered trial the effect of iPOST without thrombectomy compared to conventional PCI on the development of heart failure and death in STEMI patients.