One-year clinical and angiographic follow-up after primary stenting

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The late reocclusion or restenosis rate of the infarct related artery is frequent after primary angioplasty. An implanted stent may be able to improve the coronary angioplasty results and long-term outcome of these patients. We present the clinical and angiographic outcome of a cohort of patients treated with primary stenting. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A group of 74 consecutive patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with primary angioplasty and stenting were followed for one year. An angiographic control was performed at the 6th month of follow-up in 91% of patients to assess the restenosis and reocclusion rates of the infarct-related artery. RESULTS: There were eight in-hospital deaths and three during follow-up (mortality rate 14.8%) and one non-fatal reinfarction (1.5%). The cumulative rate of recurrent ischemia was 6% at 3 months and 15% at 6 months, without any further increment at one-year follow-up. A new angioplasty was performed in 7 patients and three patients underwent surgical revascularization. Thus 80% of patients after discharge were free of events. The angiographic control showed only one reocclusion of the infarct related artery and a restenosis rate of 27%. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that primary stenting is an effective procedure in treating non-selected patients with acute myocardial infarction with a low long-term incidence of adverse events and a low restenosis rate.