title: Primary Angioplasty Is the Optimal Approach to Early Reperfusion in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction.
abstract: Primary angioplasty offers several advantages to thrombolysis for the treatment of acute myocardial infarction. First, most patients are candidates for primary angioplasty. In contrast, only 20--30% meet eligibility criteria for thrombolysis. Second, angioplasty is superior to thrombolysis in achieving infarct artery patency, restoring normal coronary blood flow, and preventing temporary or permanent reocclusion. Third, angioplasty results in lower rates of mortality, recurrent ischemia, or stroke than thrombolysis. Finally, the cost of an angioplasty strategy is lower than the thrombolysis strategy due to earlier hospital discharge, fewer expensive complications, and fewer subsequent procedures and hospitalizations.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan Ann Arbor, USA.
authors.forename: Eric R.
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Bates