BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Primary intervention by stent implantation during acute myocardial infarction is a novel strategy to provide better myocardial perfusion compared to thrombolysis or baloon angioplasty. We aimed to assess the reperfusion achieved by primary stenting, employing TIMI frame count for more objective and quantitative measurement. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Measurements for number of frames required to opacify standardized angiographic landmark branch(TIMI frame count) were determined for the coronary arteries of 77 normal controls and 65 patients with acute myocardial infarction who underwent primary stenting within 12 hours of symptom onset. RESULTS: In normal subjects, TIMI frame count for left anterior descending artery(LAD) was 1.3 times of mean count of right coronary artery(RCA) and left circumflex artery(LCx), and significant less than that of TIMI study(22.3+/-4.9 vs 36.2+/-2.6, p<0.05). TIMI frame count for RCA and LCx was similar to results of TIMI study. In infarct related arteries(IRA), corrected TIMI frame count(CTFC) after primary stenting was similar to those of normal control. Frame counts of RCA was larger compared to that of normal control, but statistically insignificant(23.0+/-7.5 vs 17.6+/-3.5, p>0.05). There was no difference of CTFC of non-infarct related arteries between patients and normal controls. CONCLUSION: The TIMI frame count of LAD artery in normal Korean subjects was significantly less than that of American counterpart. In patients with acute myocardial infarction, primary stenting appeared to provide improved coronary flow similar to that observed in normal subjects, as measured by TIMI frame counting.
Angioplasty ; Arteries ; Coronary Vessels ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Perfusion ; Reperfusion ; Stents*

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Perfusion*

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Perfusion*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The restoration of infarct-related coronary artery (IRA) patency in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) linked to a significant improvement in survival. Because of microvascular and cellular injury, patent IRA does not always represent successful reperfusion. With progress of myocardial ischemia, standard 12 lead ECG shows evolutional changes of ST-segment, R wave and Q wave. But their relations to myocardial perfusion were uncertain. METHODS: Total 41 patients of the first anterior wall AMI were enrolled and serial ECGs were taken to measure sum of ST-segment elevation (sigma ST), sum of Q wave (sigma Q), sum of R wave (sigma R), and QRS score (QRSs) proposed by Selvester in each patients before thrombolytic therapy (i), after coronary angiography at 90 minutes of thrombolytic therapy (a), and before discharge (d). Myocardial contrast echocardiography was performed within 10 days of AMI to estimate opacification score (OS) and opacification index (OI) in segments of LAD territory. We investigate the relation between evolution of ECG changes and perfusion status of infarcted myocardium. RESULTS: 1) There was no relation between OI and sigma ST, but sigma R and QRSs showed significant relation with OI before discharge (r=0.59, - 0.33, p<0.05, respectively), post thrombolytic therapy (r=0.51, - 0.61, p<0.05), and baseline ECG (r=0.53, - 0.51, p<0.05). 2) The number of segments with OS (0.5) showed no singificant relation to the degree of sigma ST and sigma Q, but number of segments with OS (0) showed singinficant relation to that of sigma R and QRSs (r of sigma Ri, sigma Ra, sigma Rd vs number of segments with OS (0)= - 0.59, - 0.66, - 0.43, p<0.05, QRSi, QRSa, QRSd vs number of segments with OS (0)=0.58, 0.58, 0.57, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the ECG changes of R wave and QRS scores could be useful markers of perfusion state in thrombolytic era.
Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Myocardium ; Perfusion* ; Reperfusion ; Thrombolytic Therapy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Effective myocardial reperfusion following primary percutaneous coronary intervention for AMI, in lesions with a thrombus, is limited by distal embolization and slow/no reflow phenomenon. We evaluated the safety and efficacy of a thrombus reduction technique, using the export aspiration catheter for thrombosuction prior to primary PCI for AMI. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We analyzed 61 AMI patients who had a thrombus burden on angiography, after having undergone primary PCI, either with or without EAC (EAC group; n=31, 24 males, mean ages 54.7+/-11.8 years)(control group; n=31, 20 males, mean ages 65.5+/-12.2 years). After the primary PCI, the angiographic findings and clinical outcomes at 1 and 6 months were recorded. RESULTS: The procedural and angiographic success rates were 100 (31/31) and 93.5 (29/31), and 100 (31/31) and 87.1% (27/31), respectively. After PCI, the recovery rate to TIMI 3 flow was higher in the EAC than the control group (26/31 vs. 20/31, p<0.05), and the corrected TIMI frame count was less in the EAC than the control group (23.9+/-15.1 vs. 34.8+/-22.5, p<0.05). However, there were no different in the TIMI perfusion grade between the two groups. Although there was no statistical significance, distal embolization was more commonly observed in control (16.1%, 5/31) than the EAC group (0/31)(p=0.056). There were no differences in the incidences of MACE at 1 (0 vs. 7.7%, p=0.237) and 6 months (6.9 vs. 0%, p=0.500) between two groups. In the 31 patients who underwent successful thrombosuction, gross thrombi were obtained from 25 (80.6%). CONCLUSION: In AMI, the use of thrombosuction, with EAC prior to PCI, provides a simple, rapid and potentially effective method for removal of the thrombus burden and restoration of coronary flow.
Angiography ; Catheters* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardial Reperfusion ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention* ; Perfusion ; Thrombosis