EDITORIALS

Time delay in primary angioplasty: how relevant is it?

Dariusz Dudek¹, Tomasz Rakowski², Artur Dziewierz², Waldemar Mielecki²

¹ Department of Interventional Cardiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland
² 2^nd Department of Cardiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Krakow, Poland

Correspondence to:
Dr D Dudek, Department of Interventional Cardiology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Kopernika 17, 31-501 Krakow, Poland; mcdudek@cyf-kr.edu.pl

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See article on page 1244

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Abbreviations: NRMI, National Registry of Myocardial Infarction; PPCI, primary percutaneous coronary intervention; STEMI, ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Keywords: angioplasty; time delay

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Many clinical trials have shown that primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI) is more effective than thrombolysis for the treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).¹ According to current guidelines, PPCI is the preferred form of reperfusion treatment for patients with STEMI. However, advantages of an invasive approach over fibrinolytic treatment may be blunted by several factors. Most important include low availability of experienced institutions offering 24 hour/7 day PPCI service and delay to invasive treatment due to prolonged transport. The delayed initiation of reperfusion treatment and its effect on clinical outcomes in STEMI and long-term mortality as well as logistic problems of the organisation of cardiac care have been extensively discussed.

In this issue of Heart, Asseburg et al present a meta-analysis of randomised studies comparing PPCI and fibrinolytic treatment for patients with STEMI (see article on page 1244).² Of special interest is the application of Bayesian . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Assessing the effectiveness of primary angioplasty compared with thrombolysis and its relationship to time delay: a Bayesian evidence synthesis

Christian Asseburg, Yolanda Bravo Vergel, Stephen Palmer, Elisabeth Fenwick, Mark de Belder, Keith R Abrams, and Mark Sculpher
Heart 2007 93: 1244-1250. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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