Effect of Remote Ischaemic Conditioning on clinical outcomes in st-segment elevation myocardial infarction patients undergoing Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (ERIC-PPCI): A multi-centre randomised controlled clinical study

A blood pressure cuff on the arm, inflated and deflated in short cycles during a heart attack, could reduce long-term damage to the heart muscle. Heart attacks kill or disable more people in the UK than any other disease. Even when doctors rapidly reopen the blocked artery with a stent—the current best treatment—many patients still develop heart failure or die within years because the heart muscle has been permanently injured. The damage happens largely during the first few minutes of blood flow returning, a process called reperfusion injury. This trial tests whether a simple, non-invasive cuff technique—remote ischaemic conditioning—applied during the emergency procedure can limit that injury and improve survival. If the technique works, it would be a cheap, widely available intervention that could be added to standard care in every cardiac catheter lab in the country, with no new equipment or specialist training. It would not replace stents or drugs, but could reduce the number of patients who go on to develop heart failure, cutting hospital readmissions and improving quality of life for tens of thousands of people each year. The trial is a randomised controlled study across multiple UK and Danish hospitals, directly measuring clinical outcomes over the long term.