Effects of Remote Cardiac Ischemic Preconditioning

A heart attack occurs when blood flow is disrupted to the heart and is related to both the blockage and flow restoration (reperfusion injury). An occlusion during a heart attack can be cleared (mostly via stents), but there are no methods to decrease reperfusion injury even though animal studies have found that "preconditioning" has powerful protective effects. Through the observation of Jewish men wearing tefillin the investigators have discovered a method of bringing preconditioning to patients at risk for heart attacks. This study will focus on women as the majority of people who wear tefillin (and have been studied) are men.