Randomized clinical trials have conclusively shown that beta-blocker therapy reduces mortality by about 20% during the 2-year period following myocardial infarction (MI) (1–3). On the basis of these data, international guidelines recommend beta-blocker therapy as a class 1 recommendation for patients who have MI, including ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), initiated within the...

The use of fibrinolytic agents in the early treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is known to significantly reduce mortality. Accelerated (“frontloaded”) alteplase is being challenged as the standard of care for pharmacological reperfusion. Alteplase, reteplase, and streptokinase have several limitations. The search for newer agents has focused on developing a fibrinol...

BACKGROUND Low level of testosterone may be associated with cardiovascular diseases in men, as some evidence suggests a protective role for testosterone in cardiovascular system. Little is known about the possible role of serum testosterone in response to reperfusion therapy in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and its relationship with ST-segment recovery. The present study was conduc...

We present a clinical case of early occlusion of the non-infarct-related artery (non-IRA) in a patient with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (pPCI). Several hours after successful percutaneous treatment of the occluded right coronary artery the patient developed a second myocardial infarction, which was caused by acute occlusion ...

INTRODUCTION Gender-specific issues regarding ST-segment elevation (STEMI) and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) due to unprotected left main coronary artery (ULMCA) disease were not sufficiently studied. We assessed the value of STEMI/NSTEMI initial classification on the management of men and women with acute MI due to critical stenosis or occlusion of the ULMCA. MATERI...

A uniform policy for regionalization of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) care raises several concerns. Transferring all STEMI patients to obtain primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) may be less effective than transferring only high-risk STEMI patients. Delays in time to treatment >60 min associated with transferring patients for primary PCI may result in increased ...

AIMS The prognostic value of admission troponin T (tnT) levels and the resolution of the ST-segment elevation in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is well established. However, the combination of these two early available markers for predicting risk has not been evaluated. METHODS AND RESULTS We evaluated 516 patients with fibrinolytic treated STEMI from the ASSENT-2 and ASSENT-PLUS ...

The prognosis of patients with ST-segment–elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has continued to improve significantly since the introduction of the coronary care units in the 1960s. However, despite the widespread use of effective fibrinolytic and antithrombotic drugs, primary percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI), and shorter ischemic times, because of improved emergency transportation,...

In ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) peri-procedural P2Y12 antagonism - although of great importance - is often suboptimal, even with the novel oral antiplatelet agents prasugrel and ticagrelor. The concept of pre-hospital ticagrelor loading, investigated in the recently published Administration of Ticagrelor ...