Restricting Arm's Blood Flow May Protect the Heart

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery may have improved outcomes by first having a procedure that temporarily restricts the blood flow in their arm, a study hints. So called "remote ischemic preconditioning" may reduce the heart damage that occurs during heart bypass surgery, cardiologists report in Friday's edition of The Lancet. Remote ischemic preconditioning works by depriving one tissue of blood flow in hopes of protecting another organ from sustained ischemia (reduced blood flow). Whether this technique actually benefits people undergoing CABG, however, is unclear.