ABSTRACT

Recent data suggest that the risk of acquired ventricular septal defect (VSD), a complication of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), could be reduced using thrombolytic therapy. There are, however, still no available data regarding the potential impact of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PC!) on AMI-related VSD in a clinical setting. The purposes of this study were to determine the incidence of AMI-related VSD in patients with AMI (for< 12 h) underwent primary PCI. From Nov 2003 through Jan 2005, a total of 1,320 patients with AMI (for < 12 h) underwent primary PCI in our hospital. We evaluated the incidence of AMI-related VSD. Of these 1,320 patients, no patient (0 %) developed VSD after undergoing a primary PCI. In conclusion, in patients with acute myocardial infarction, reperfusion with primary angioplasty is associated with less myocardial rupture and mechanical complications than thrombolytics. This finding may, in part, explain the improved prognosis observed in myocardial infarction patients treated with primary angioplasty.