Remote ischaemic conditioning for preventing and treating st | Figure 1

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Remote ischaemic conditioning for preventing and treating stroke caused by low blood flow

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What are the benefits of using remote ischaemic conditioning (RIC; a noninvasive physical therapy that involves inflating blood pressure cuffs to reduce blood flow in arms and legs, and then releasing the affected blood around the body) in people with stroke or those at risk of stroke caused by low blood flow?

Cochrane Review; 7 trials (735 participants).

Key results

In people with narrowing of arteries in the brain, RIC may reduce the risk of recurrent stroke. In people being treated with stenting (the insertion of a metal or plastic tube) for narrowed arteries in the neck, RIC may reduce the size of new brain injuries caused by reduced blood flow. However, its effect on clinical outcomes (stroke and death) was unclear. Adverse events were significantly more common in the RIC group but were not reported to be severe.

Among people with acute ischaemic stroke (where it had only been several hours from symptom onset) who received clot-dissolving medicines, we found that RIC may increase the risk of death or dependency (needing help from others). We found no significant differences in the size of the final stroke. In people with acute ischaemic stroke and chronic blood vessel disease of the brain, RIC did not affect measures of nerve function, mood, or thinking ability.

Read the full Cochrane Review here

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