Chronic hind limb ischemia reduces myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rabbit heart by promoting coronary angiogenesis/arteriogenesis.

Background/aim: Application of ischemic injury in a remote organ may provide protection of other tissues against ischemia. We hypothesized that ischemia in the rabbit hind limb protects against myocardial ischemia by increasing angiogenesis/arteriogenesis.

Materials And Methods: In the first experiment, severe limb ischemia (LI) was induced in 26 New Zealand White rabbits by excision of the femoral artery while another 26 served as controls (no ischemia; sham operation [SHO]).