[Time's paradigm in primary angioplasty]

The use of primary angioplasty in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), as opposed to fibrinolysis, is well established, as long as performed by an experienced team. The benefits are "time-dependent", hense the rational for the sentence "Time is Muscle". It is very important to assess the time factor, mainly if the therapeutic option is primary angioplasty, since it is necessary to set up a full range of conditions related to this type of specific treatment (human, material and logistical). In the current study was analysed the in and out of hospital time sequence of 99 patients with AMI that underwent primary PTCA during the year of 1999. The main goal was to assess if the performance of this procedure outside regular working hours could have any significant impact on the "time of in-hospital ischemia". The different time durations were prospectively recorded according to a protocol that was previously established and filled for each patient by the lab team. The authors conclude that: a) the average in-hospital time delay in the treatment of AMI by PTCA was not significantly influenced by the fact that the procedure was performed outside the regular working hours of the lab; b) the main component of the "ischemic in hospital time" corresponds to the time between the patient's admission and the decision making time for PTCA. Although the average decision making time for PTCA is too long and must be optimized, the average total in hospital ischemic time (99-105 minutes) compares favorably with other previous reports in the literature.