G. Vijaya Kumar1, K. Hemanth Kumar2, D. Bala Subrahmanyam3
Efforts are being made to give thrombolytic therapy as early as possible after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, more than 30% of AMI patients present to hospital 6 hours after the onset of their first symptom i.e., later than the usual time window for administration of thrombolytic therapy. Thus, extension of this time window to patient coming up to 24 hours after the symptom onset will make such therapy available to more patients.
OBJECTIVES: To assess the efficacy of thrombolytic therapy with IV streptokinase after 6 to 24 hours of the onset of chest pain in acute AMI patients in terms of: Immediate effect on symptom relief and ECG changes of reperfusion. Effect on mortality in hospital; at one month, 6 months and one year follow-up. To compare the above data with patients who were thrombolyzed within 6 hours from pain onset and patients who were not thrombolyzed within 24 hours from onset of pain.
