ABSTRACT
The benefits of myocardial revascularization in ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome after 12 to 24 hours from symptom onset remain a topic of debate, especially in patients who are stable and asymptomatic. We analyzed the benefit of late revascularization by primary coronary intervention in patients admitted to Moroccan cardiac intensive care units (CICUs) with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction after 12 hours of symptom onset. We included a total of 406 patients who met the inclusion criteria: 262 patients in the invasive strategy group and 144 patients in the conservative strategy group. A total of 74.6% were men, and 25.4% were women. For the primary outcome, 46 all-cause deaths were observed at 1 year, with 33 patients in the conservative strategy arm and 13 patients in the invasive strategy group, with a significant difference between the 2 groups (p <0.001). For secondary outcomes, there was no difference in readmission for acute coronary syndrome or acute heart failure between the 2 groups (p = 0.277, p = 0.205). For in-CICU cardiogenic shock and ejection fraction <35% at discharge, more events are observed in the conservative strategy, with a significant difference for both (p <0.001). In multivariable analysis, 1-year all-cause mortality was independently associated with revascularization between 12 and 48 hours (hazard ratio [HR] 0.372, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.182 to 0.762, p = 0.007), ejection fraction <35% at discharge (HR 1.92, 95% CI 1.22 to 2.54, p = 0.04), and cardiogenic shock in-CICU (HR 2.69, 95% CI 1.82 to 3.78, p = 0.005).Although no evidence exists to date on the true benefit of late primary coronary intervention revascularization in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, this practice remains common, as indicated by the results of most registries.
