Death or nonfatal stroke in patients with acute myocardial infarction treated with tissue plasminogen activator. Participants in the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction 2.

In a retrospective cohort of patients treated in community hospitals, tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) was associated with decreased odds of in-hospital death or nonfatal stroke. However, the relative benefit was less evident in older patients and women, and some older subgroups did not benefit from treatment

The use of intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation in patients with cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction: data from the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction 2

BACKGROUND: Cardiogenic shock complicating acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains the leading cause of death in patients hospitalized with AMI. Although several studies have demonstrated the importance of establishing and maintaining a patent infarct-related artery, it remains unclear as to whether intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) provides incremental benefit to reperfusion therapy. The purpose of this study was to determine whether IABP use is associated with lower in-hospital mortality rates in patients with AMI complicated by cardiogenic shock in a large AMI registry. METHODS: We evaluated patients participating in the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction 2 who had cardiogenic shock at initial examination or in whom cardiogenic shock developed during hospitalization (n = 23,180). RESULTS: The mean age of patients in the study was 72 years, 54% were men, and the majority were white. The overall mortality rate in all patients who had cardiogenic shock or in whom cardiogenic shock developed was 70%. IABP was used in 7268 (31%) patients. IABP use was associated with a significant reduction in mortality rates in patients who received thrombolytic therapy (67% vs 49%) but was not associated with any benefit in patients treated with primary angioplasty (45% vs 47%). In a multivariate model, the use of IABP in conjunction with thrombolytic therapy decreased the odds of death by 18% (odds ratio, 0.82; 95% confidence interval, 0.72 to 0.93). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with AMI complicated by cardiogenic shock may have substantial benefit from IABP when used in combination with thrombolytic therapy