Ischemic Preconditioning and Exercise-Induced Endothelium-Dependent Function

What do elite athletes and remote preconditioning have in common? With the 2012 London Olympic Games underway, our Consulting Editor David Gutterman interviews lead author Dick Thijssen (Liverpool John Moores University) and expert Michael Widlansky (Medical College of Wisconsin) about the work by Bailey et al, which investigates how a preconditioning ischemic stimulus applied to the legs could provide protection against endothelial dysfunction in the arms after intense exercise. Could the observation that improved performance times on a 5K run after remote preconditioning lead to new training techniques to improve performance for Olympic athletes? Is this tantamount to doping? Listen in and find out.

Tom G. Bailey, Gurpreet K. Birk, N. Timothy Cable, Greg Atkinson, Daniel J. Green, Helen Jones, and Dick H.J. Thijssen Remote Ischemic Preconditoning Prevents Reduction in Brachial Artery Flow Mediated Dilation after Strenuous Exercise Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published online June 22, 2012, doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00272.2012.