ABSTRACT
In patients with acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), early recanalization of the infarct-related artery (IRA) is crucial. In the past three decades, several randomized clinical trials have shown that thrombolysis redues morbidity and mortality (1-3). In the past decade, primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been shown to be as effective as or more effective than thrombolysis in reducing the incidence of cardiac events after an index infarct. An ongoing debate swirls around which of these two treatment regimens is the preferred one. In this context, our experience in treating patients with STEMI virtually exclusively with pharmacological thrombolysis may be illuminating.
