Percutaneous coronary intervention rationale

The paradigm shift in 1980 on the causation of acute myocardial infarction to acute coronary occlusion by a thrombus created the rationale for thrombolytic therapy of this common lethal disease. At that time—and for the first time-intravenous thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction in the European Cooperative Study Group trial was found to reduce mortality significantly. Later studies, with thousands of patients in each trial, provided enough statistical power for the 20% reduction in mortality to be considered statistically significant. Although the standard of care in areas with adequate facilities and experience in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) now favors catheterization and placement of a stent, thrombolytic therapy is still very important where PCI is not readily available. 

To understand the evolution of therapy of the acute coronary syndrome (ACS), which includes unstable angina, acute myocardial infarction, and interventional therapy— percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), it is most useful to trace the historical events that provided a rationale for the use of anticoagulant and antiplatelet drugs, The focus of this chapter is upon the explosion in knowledge of the physiology of the hemostatic mechanism and will trace the rational development of therapy based upon the pathophysiology of the ACS over the past 40 years. 

Waters RE 11, Singh KP, Roe MT, et al. Rationale and strategies for implementing community-based transfer protocols for primary percutaneous coronary intervention for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. J Am Coll Cardiol. In press. 

---