Conditioning the whole heart-not just the cardiomyocyte

► We review whether cardiac conditioning maybe protective beyond the cardiomyocyte. ► Autocrine and paracrine signalling are examined in the context of conditioning. ► Potential paracrine mechanisms are identified between myocardial cell compartments. ► Conditioning may be a complex interaction between myocardial cell populations. ► We propose cellular interaction be studied as part of future conditioning study.