Treatment Delayed Is Treatment Denied

Author: David O. Williams, MD

Column from Circulation, 2004; 109: 1806-1808

In 1977, Reimer and coworkers published the results of an experiment that established the basis of reperfusion therapy for patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). These investigators identified a relationship between the duration of acute coronary occlusion and the magnitude of subsequent myocardial necrosis. In other words, the extent of infarct size that resulted from sustained occlusion could be reduced if the occlusion were interrupted and flow restored. Furthermore, reductions in the duration of occlusion were associated with incremental decreases in infarct size.

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