Why can primary angioplastics be ineffective despite the precocity of the intervention?

Abstract

Early coronary revascularization is a first choice therapeutic strategy in the case of acute myocardial infarction (MI). Despite an early coronary angioplasty, however, in some cases, there is a lower efficacy of revascularization, with less favourable clinical outcome in the short and long terms. Various elements participate in the distant prognosis after primary coronary angioplasty (PCI). Among the clinical risk factors that predispose to a recurrence of ischaemic cardiovascular events are advanced age, diabetes mellitus, chronic renal failure, peripheral vascular disease, atrial fibrillation and the multiplicity of cardiovascular risk factors, which identify a higher baseline risk profile. The risk factors associated with the percutaneous interventional procedure include the presence of diffuse or complex coronary lesions, the use of small diameter stents or a suboptimal post procedural thrombolysis in MI flow. The occurrence of procedural complications, such as no-reflow, is in fact associated with an increase in the infarct area and a worse prognosis, as it favours negative ventricular remodelling. The presence of concomitant right ventricular dysfunction, the high ventricular arrhythmic burden in the acute phase, the presence of risk factors for thrombosis or intra-stent restenosis also affect the outcome after primary PCI.