Life-saving cuff
The cuff of the tonometer will save you from a heart attack
ABC Magazine based on the materials of Aarhus University:
Blood pressure cuff may save lives in patients with acute heart attackIt turns out that a short–term lack of oxygen in a distant organ, developing with periodic cessation of blood flow, can protect another organ (in this case, the heart) from a prolonged lack of oxygen, as it happens with a classic acute myocardial infarction with ST segment elevation on an electrocardiogram.
Earlier, Professor Hans Erik Botker and his research team from Aarhus University have already demonstrated that long-term ischemia in patients who underwent emergency balloon dilatation of coronary vessels at the time of a heart attack reduces myocardial tissue damage by an average of 30%. At the same time, the cuff of the tonometer was wrapped around the shoulder, air was pumped into it to a pressure of 200 mm Hg, held for 5 minutes and then blown away. The procedure was repeated 4 times after 5 minutes of rest.
The new results given in their article in the European Heart Journal (Slothet al., Improved long-term clinical outcomes in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction underlying remote ischemic conditioning as an adjunct to primary percutaneous coronary intervention) were obtained over 4 years of observations of 251 patients, in addition to the usual measures received (or who did not receive such therapy during transportation to a cardiology center. Subsequently, the heart tissues saved in this way gave patients certain clinical advantages: thus, in comparison with the control group, the development of new cardiac manifestations decreased by 51 percent, and the number of deaths decreased by 61 percent.
The authors believe that the main mechanism is the activation of internal protective systems that contribute to the development of resistance of heart tissues to hypoxia during an attack and, especially, when restoring the patency of the coronary vessel using balloon dilatation. Doctoral student Astrid Drivsholm Sloth, who conducted this study, considers the method promising and believes that it will be widely used in the treatment of heart attacks. However, for its introduction into clinical practice, studies larger than this modest pilot project will be required that can confirm the clinical effectiveness of the method and the impact of its use on mortality and the incidence of heart failure after acute myocardial infarction.
It should be noted that the technique of reducing venous return in infarction by applying tourniquets to the limbs was mentioned in all Soviet and Russian university textbooks on cardiology of the XX century. So, in the manual "Heart and vascular Diseases", published in 1992 under the editorship of Academician E. I. Chazov, it is explained: the imposition of tourniquets on the lower extremities causes the deposition of blood in a volume of 1-1.5 liters, which from a pathogenetic point of view is a good help in the treatment of this pathology. However, it should not be forgotten that after removing the tourniquets from the limbs, especially if they were from an hour or more, the patient may have a kind of "inclusion syndrome", and all previous treatment may be ineffective. Based on this, the approach to applying tourniquets should be differentiated: their use is justified at the stage of pre-medical care, but not in a hospital setting.
Danish researchers have shown that a positive effect can be achieved without a traumatic effect: even short-term compression of tissues mobilizes internal reserves and causes the release of vasodilating and cytoprotective biologically active substances in tissues, allowing cells to tolerate hypoxia more easily.
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru28.10.2013