ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the preferred method of reperfusion for patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), when it can be performed in a timely manner at an experienced center (1-4). Transfer from non-PCI hospitals to PCI-capable facilities has also been shown to be superior to fibrinolysis (5,6). The American Heart Association/ American College of Cardiology (AHA/ACC) guidelines currently recommend a door-to-balloon time of 90 minutes for primary PCI (1). Though the evidence supporting rapid reperfusion of STEMI patients using PCI is ample, consistently achieving rapid treatment of patients with STEMI on a national scale is a challenging problem (7-9).
