Impact of Door-to-Balloon Time Reduction Depending on the Killip Classification in Patients with ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction Transported by Emergency Medical Services.

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic occurred in several countries, making the conventional medical system difficult to maintain. Recent recommendations aim to prevent nosocomial infections and infections among health care workers. Therefore, establishing a cardiovascular medical system under an emergency for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is desired. This study aimed to determine the relationship between prognosis and door-to-balloon time (DBT) shortening based on the severity on arrival.This retrospective, multi-center, observational study included 1,127 consecutive patients with STEMI. These patients were transported by emergency medical services and underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention. Patients were stratified according to the Killip classification: Killip 1 (n = 738) and Killip ≥ 2 (n = 389) groups.Patients in the Killip ≥ 2 group were older, with more females, and more severity on arrival than those in the Killip 1 group. The 30-day mortality rate in the Killip 1 and Killip ≥ 2 groups was 2.2% and 18.0%, respectively. The Killip ≥ 2 group had a significant difference in the 30-day mortality between patients with DBT ≤ 90 minutes and those with DBT > 90 minutes; however, this did not occur in the Killip 1 group. Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that DBT ≤ 90 minutes was not a significant predictive factor in the Killip 1 group; however, it was an independent predictive factor in the Killip ≥ 2 group.DBT shortening affected the 30-day mortality in STEMI patients with Killip ≥ 2, although not those with Killip 1.

Impact of Door-to-Balloon Time in Patients With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Who Arrived by Self-Transport　- Acute Myocardial Infarction-Kyoto Multi-Center Risk Study Group.

BACKGROUND: Patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who arrive at a hospital via self-transport reportedly have a delayed door-to-balloon time (DBT). However, the clinical impacts of delayed DBT on in-hospital mortality among such patients are not well known.Methods and Results:In total, 1,172 STEMI patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention between January 2009 and December 2013 from the Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) Kyoto Registry were analyzed. Compared with the emergency medical service (EMS) group (n=804), the self-transport group (n=368) was younger and had a significantly longer DBT (115 min vs. 90 min, P<0.01), with fewer patients having a Killip classification of 2 or higher. The in-hospital mortality rate was lower in the self-transport group than in the EMS group (3.3% vs. 7.1%, P<0.01). A DBT >90 min was an independent predictor of in-hospital mortality in EMS patients (odds ratio (OR)=2.43, P=0.01) but not in self-transport patients (OR=0.89, P=0.87). CONCLUSIONS: The present study demonstrated that there was no relationship between in-hospital prognosis and DBT ≤90 min in STEMI patients using self-transport. The prognosis of these patients cannot be improved by focusing only on DBT. Treatment strategies based on means of transport should also be considered.

Clinical characteristics of silent myocardial ischemia diagnosed with adenosine stress 99mTc-tetrofosmin myocardial scintigraphy in Japanese patients with acute cerebral infarction.

It is well known that silent myocardial ischemia (SMI) often complicates patients with cerebral infarction and that stroke patients often die of ischemic heart disease. Therefore, it is considered important to treat myocardial ischemia in stroke patients. This study investigated SMI complicating Japanese patients with fresh stroke, using (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin myocardial scintigraphy with pharmacologic stress testing to elucidate their clinical manifestations. This study included 41 patients (26 men, mean age 76.0 ± 10.7 years) with acute cerebral infarction and no history of coronary artery disease. All patients underwent (99m)Tc-tetrofosmin myocardial scintigraphy with intravenous administration of adenosine to diagnose SMI. Of the 41 patients, myocardial ischemia was confirmed in 17 patients (41.5%). Atherosclerotic etiology was the major cause of stroke in the ischemia(+) group and embolic origin was the major cause in the ischemia(-) group. Patients with myocardial ischemia had a higher incidence of diabetes mellitus (52.9 vs 20.8%; P = 0.0323) and more than two conventional cardiovascular risk factors (64.7 vs 25.0%; P = 0.0110) compared with the nonischemic patients. Infarction subtype of atherosclerotic origin was an independent positive predictor of asymptomatic myocardial ischemia in patients with stroke. These findings indicate that the prevalence of asymptomatic myocardial ischemia is relatively high, especially in patients with stroke of atherosclerotic origin. Therefore, it is beneficial for us to narrow the target population who are at the highest risk when screening for SMI in Japanese patients with acute cerebral infarction.