We have designed a randomized, single-blinded interventional study involving 320 patients (40% diabetics) who are to undergo elective PCI. At the end of the angioplasty procedure, the patients assigned to remote ischemic post-conditioning will undergo three 5-minute cycles of ischemia using a blood-pressure cuff at 200 mmHg, placed on the non-dominant arm, interrupted twice for 5 minutes with the cuff deflated. In the control group the procedure will be limited to placing a deflated blood-pressure cuff (pressure: 0 mmHg) for 25 minutes.