Late PCI for Totally Occluded Arteries After MI

By 1 year, medical-therapy and PCI patients had similar scores on a functional index.

The “open-artery hypothesis” holds that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) might be beneficial for a patient whose infarct-related artery is totally occluded several days after myocardial infarction. However, in a randomized trial published in 2006, PCI with stenting — performed 3 to 28 days after MI — did not lower 4-year incidence of death, recurrent MI, or severe heart failure among such patients (JW Dec 13 2006). Now, the investigators report outcomes related to quality of life.

At 4 months, the mean score on a functional status index was modestly, but significantly, higher in the PCI group than in the medical-therapy group; however, differences between groups disappeared by 12 and 24 months. Proportions of patients with angina wer…

Reviewing Author

Allan S. Brett, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose

Allan S. Brett, MD

Disclosures

Nothing to disclose