Time to Treatment: A Crucial Factor in Thrombolysis and Primary Angioplasty

Abstract

Time to treatment with thrombolytic therapy has been recognized as an important factor in the treatment of patients with acute myocardial infarction: By restoring infarct-related artery patency earlier, clinical outcome is improved. Of the several components of time delay between the onset of pain to opening of the artery, in-hospital time delay (i.e., the door-to-needle time) is one that physicians can control the most, with improvements being reported with the use of a myocardial infarction (MI) protocol like the one advocated by the National Heart Attack Alert Program. These same principles apply to the alternate reperfusion strategy, primary angioplasty. Indeed, while primary angioplasty has been shown to be beneficial in early clinical trials, it appears that the "door-to-balloon" time is a crucial component of the overall strategy. Thus, a growing body of evidence demonstrates that time to treatment is a crucial factor in both thrombolysis and primary angioplasty.