Abstract
BACKGROUND:Thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) flow grade 2 or 3 before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is associated with improved outcomes. However, no recent data are available on its impact beyond 1 year and/or by type of AMI.AIMS:To assess the prognostic impact of prePCI TIMI flow at 30 days and 3 years in patients with ST-segment elevation (STEMI) or non-ST-segment elevation (NSTEMI) AMI.METHODS:We compared long-term outcomes associated with TIMI flow grade 2/3 versus 0/1 in patients referred for PCI in the nationwide French registry of acute ST-segment elevation or non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (FAST-MI) 2010.RESULTS:TIMI flow grade 2/3 was found in 41% of patients with STEMI and 69% of patients with NSTEMI; it was associated with a lower risk of 30-day death in patients with STEMI (odds ratio 0.30, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.12-0.77; P=0.01), but not in patients with NSTEMI (odds ratio 0.57, 95% CI 0.22-1.42; P=0.23). TIMI grade flow 2/3 was also associated with a lower risk of 3-year death in patients with STEMI (hazard ratio 0.69, 95% CI 0.49-0.98; P=0.04), but not in patients with NSTEMI (hazard ratio 0.79, 95% CI 0.56-1.11; P=0.17).CONCLUSION:TIMI flow grade 2/3 is observed more often in patients with NSTEMI; it is an independent predictor of early and late survival in patients with STEMI, but is not significantly related to early or long-term survival in patients with NSTEMI.