Effect on outcome of the presence or absence of chest pain at initiation of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator therapy in acute myocardial infarction

Abstract

To ascertain whether the outcome of patients with suspected myocardial infarction differs when chest pain is still present at initiation of thrombolytic therapy, participants in the Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction Phase 11 study, all of whom presented within 4 hours of symptoms onset, were retrospectively divided into 2 groups: (1) those with chest pain present at onset of intravenous thrombolysis, n = 3,000; and (2) those who were free of chest pain on beginning intravenous thrombolytic therapy, n = 337. Patients free of chest pain were older (58 vs 57 years, p = 0.01), more often women (23 vs 17%, p = 0.01), had fewer electrocardiographic leads with ST elevation (3.8 vs 4.1, p <0.001), and the presenting event was confirmed less often as myocardial infarction than as chest pain without infarction (88 vs 96%, p <0.001). There were no significant differences between the 2 groups for in-hospital death, reinfarction, recurrent ischemic events, stroke, overall hemorrhagic complications, coronary angioplasty or bypass surgery. At 6-weeks follow-up, more pain-free patients had resting ejection fraction >0.55 (35 vs 31%, p 0.001) and fewer developed congestive heart failure (12 vs 20%). At 1-year follow-up, fewer pain-free patients developed congestive heart failure (15 vs 21%, p = 0.009), but no differences existed between the 2 groups in frequency of death, reinfarction, coronary angioplasty, bypass surgery or anginal class. Thus, there are several observations in patients who were free of chest pain at onset of lytic therapy. (1) The majority developed enzymatic or electrocardiographic evidence of acute myocardial infarction. (2) Lytic therapy was safe and without excessive complications. (3) Higher ejection fraction was noted at 6 weeks, and at 1-year follow-up there was a lower incidence of congestive heart failure than among patients having pain at onset of lytic therapy. These observational data suggest that, for patients presenting within 4 hours of onset of clinical and electrocardiographic evidence of myocardial infarction, it is reasonable to administer thrombolytic therapy, even if symptoms have subsided.