Randomized comparison of coronary stenting with balloon angioplasty in selected patients with acute myocardial infarction

Abstract

Background - Although the benefits of primary angioplasty in acute myocardial infarction have been demonstrated, several areas for improvement remain. Therefore, a prospective randomized trial comparing primary stenting with balloon angioplasty in patients with acute myocardial infarction was conducted. Methods and Results - Patients with acute myocardial infarction were randomly assigned to undergo either primary stenting (n= 112) or balloon angioplasty (n= 115). The clinical end points were death, recurrent infarction, subsequent bypass surgery, or repeat angioplasty of the infarct- related vessel. The overall mortality rate at 6 months was 2%. Recurrent infarction occurred in 8 patients (7%) after balloon angioplasty and in 1 (1%) after stenting (P=0.036). Subsequent target-vessel revascularization was necessary in 19 (17%) and 4 (4%) patients, respectively (P=0.0016). The cardiac event-free survival rate in the stent group was significantly higher than in the balloon angioplasty group (95% versus 80%; P=0.012). Conclusions - In selected patients with acute myocardial infarction, primary stenting can be applied safely and effectively, resulting in a lower incidence of recurrent infarction and a significant reduction in the need for subsequent target-vessel revascularization compared with balloon angioplasty.