Abstract
Three different guidelines of the European Society of Cardiology cover the field of percutaneous coronary interventions. Their main recommendations are the following:All patients with an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction should undergo immediate coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention as soon as possible after the first medical contact.
Thrombolysis can be used as an alternative reperfusion therapy if the time delay to primary percutaneous coronary intervention is more than 2 hours. Patients with very high-risk non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes (recurrent or ongoing chest pain, profound or dynamic electrocardiogram changes, major arrhythmias, or haemodynamic instability) should undergo urgent coronary angiography within less than 2 hours after the initial hospital admission.
All moderate- to high-risk (GRACE score >140 or at least one primary high-risk criterion) non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes patients should undergo coronary angiography before discharge; the ideal timing is within 24 hours after admission for high-risk groups, and within 72 hours for moderate-risk groups. Other patients with recurrent symptoms or at least one high-risk criterion should undergo coronary angiography within 72 hours of first presentationLow-risk non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes may be treated conservatively, and the indication for an invasive evaluation can be done, based on the evidence of ischaemia during exercise stress testing.
Stents should be used during all percutaneous coronary intervention procedures, whenever technically feasible. Second-generation drug-eluting stents do not increase stent thrombosis and can be safely used in the ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome settings.
Triple pharmacotherapy, consisting of aspirin, thienopyridine antiplatelet agent, and anticoagulation with heparin or bivalirudin, should be used in all percutaneous coronary intervention procedures, with glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors added in patients with a high thrombus burden and low bleeding risk