Early Interventions in Acute Myocardial Infarction

Our understanding of the pathophysiology of acute myocardial infarction has grown enormously in recent years. This has led to an increasingly aggressive approach to management, designed to blunt the extent of infarction by salvaging acutely ischemic myocardium. Alternatives now include throm­ bolysis, PTCA with and without prior thrombolysis, and emergency bypass surgery, as well as the more aggre...