Comparison of short- and long-term benefits of reperfusion in single-vessel inferior wall acute myocardial infarction with and without right ventricular wall infarction

Abstract

C linical and electrocardiographic evidence of right ventricular (RV) infarct and/or ischemia occurs in 30% to 50% of patients with inferior wall acute myocardial infarction (AMI). RV extension is associated with increased short-term cardiovascular morbidity and mortality because it leads to ventricular dysfunction and low cardiac output. Acute reperfusion in these patients can diminish short-term complications and mortality rate by reducing infarct size. However, many previously reported patients with RV infarction have had multivessel disease and/or prior AMI in other territories, which further complicate the potential benefit of acute coronary reperfusion of the “culprit” lesion and the long-term prognosis of RV dysfunction. This study was designed to assess the shortand long-term effects of immediate reperfusion of the single-vessel right coronary artery in patients with inferior wall AMI with and without RV infarction.