Background: Although coronary reperfusion therapy with thrombolytic agents or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) immediately after acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has survival benefits for younger patients, the effect of coronary reperfusion therapy for very elderly (aged 80 years and older) patients with AMI remains controversial.
Methods and results: We studied 120 patients aged 80 years and older at relatively low risk with AMI. The patients were randomized into a primary PTCA group (n = 61) or a "conservative" no-PTCA group (n = 59). Long-term follow-up examination was conducted with regard to endpoints, which included all causes of death, cardiac death, nonfatal re-MI, the development of congestive heart failure, and cerebral vascular accident. End-diastolic volume index and end-systolic volume index were significantly increased in both groups at follow-up examination 6 months after AMI. However, left ventricular ejection fraction, end-diastolic volume index, and end-systolic volume index were similar between both groups. With endpoints of all causes of death, cardiac death, reinfarction, congestive heart failure, and cerebral vascular accident, a 3-year Kaplan-Meier event-free survival rate analysis revealed no significant benefits in the PTCA group. Anteroseptal MI, multivessel disease, and left ventricular ejection fraction were significantly associated with the combined events with multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis results.
Conclusion: First, primary PTCA for very elderly patients with AMI appears to have few beneficial effects on combined events during a 3-year period. Second, early PTCA did not prevent left ventricle remodeling after AMI in patients with AMI at relatively low risk.