Fig. 1.

The potential for cardioprotective strategies to limit myocardial infarction depends on the duration of ischaemia prior to reperfusion. If the duration of ischaemia before reperfusion is very short (a), then even if the relative reduction in infarct size is significant, the absolute reduction in infarct size will be very small. If the duration of ischaemia is excessively long (c), cardioprotective strategies will be ineffective. After intermediate durations of ischaemia followed by reperfusion (the “goldilocks” zone) (b), protection is maximal. Note that in this example, infarct size (as a percentage of ischaemic area at risk or AAR) is measured at a point after reperfusion, and accounts for cell death occurring during both ischaemia and reperfusion