Case report of a remote ischemic preconditioning intervention during aerobic exercise in a 44-year-old amateur triathlete male with a history of acute myocardial infarction

International Journal of Exercise Science 13(3): 924-937, 2020. Over the years, exercise has become increasingly important in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, AMI patients need to be closely monitored since they maintain cardiovascular disease risks, such as ventricular repolarization abnormalities in electrocardiograms during exercise and rest. A recent study showed the need to focus on the different potential mechanisms and the applicability of remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) for cardiac patients engaged in exercise rehabilitation. This is the first case report that explores the effectiveness of an RIPC intervention in a 44-year-old amateur triathlete male with a history of AMI during a moderate (75% of gas exchange threshold) and high (115% of gas exchange threshold) intensity steady-state cycling aerobic exercise. Prior to aerobic exercise, the participant was allocated to either RIPC intervention or CTL (control) with four cycles of five minutes of ischemia followed by five minutes of reperfusion. ECG was continuously recorded during the protocol. These findings showed that RIPC improved participant’s oxygen uptake response and shortened his ventricular repolarization during steady-state aerobic exercises. By measuring the physiological and electrophysical parameters, this case report adds new evidence for the benefits of RIPC. This study also demonstrates the safety of the intervention for cardiac patients in addition to showing that the intervention is not dangerous or harmful. This provides a new approach to cardiac rehabilitation programs. Future studies with cardiac patients are needed to provide a safe, standardized exercise intervention in cardiac rehabilitation.