Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to D Berkompas.
The primary goal of treatment in acute myocardial infarction is reperfusion of the infarct-related artery in as short a time as possible. Present strategies for acute reperfusion include the use of thrombolytic agents and a variety of catheter-based interventions. This article presents a brief review of these strategies and discusses the patient subsets better served by a particular type of intervention.
Thrombolysis and other new therapies have proved beneficial in elderly patients with myocardial infarction, but are underused in this age group. Because elderly patients are at greater cardiac risk than younger patients, they have more to gain from treatment. However, these treatments may pose more risk for elderly patients. Physicians must constantly assess the elderly patient's risk status and make treatment decisions based on risk-benefit analysis.