Figure 4. Intact parasympathetic activity is essential for cardioprotection induced by remote preconditioning but not by delayed remote postconditioning or direct myocardial preconditioning.

A, illustration of the experimental protocols. Arrow indicates time of bilateral vagotomy or sham surgery. B, infarct size is presented as a percentage of the area at risk. Vagotomy abolishes cardioprotection induced by remote ischaemic conditioning (RIc) applied prior to myocardial ischaemia, whereas cardioprotection conferred by delayed remote postconditioning (RPost10′) or myocardial ischaemic preconditioning (IPc) is not affected. Individual data and means ± SEM are shown. ***P < 0.001; n.s., not significant.