Thrombi-, Their Appearance and Resolution in the Posthospitallization Period of Acute Myocardial Infarction

A series of 198 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction were prospectively studied before hospital discharge and during 24.0 t 8.6 months of follow-up. A predischarge i irombus was found In 38 (31%) of 124 patients with anterior Infarction but in none of 74 patients with inferior infarction (p < 0 .001) . Early thrombolytic therapy in 34 patients did not decrease the rate of thrombus occurrence. Acute anterior infarction, ejection fraction c35% and apical dyskinesia or aneurysm (but not akinesia) were significantly related to the appearance of thrombus during hospitalization by stepwise logistic regression anal . ysis . Echocardiographic follow-up of 159 patients for at least 6 months (mean 26.6 ± 8.4) revealed that thrombus disappeared in 14 (48%) of 29 . Disappearance of thrombus was related to predischarge apical akinesia (but not dyskinesla) and to warfarin therapy during the follow-up period . A new thrombus first appeared after hospital discharge in 13 of 130 patients, and In 7 of the 13 it resolved during further follow-up . Thus, 30% (13 of 42) of thrombi in these patients appeared after discharge from the hospital .