Research
Incidence of post myocardial infarction left ventricular thrombus formation in the era of primary percutaneous intervention and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors. A prospective observational study
- † Equal contributors
1 Department of Cardiology, St John Hospital and Medical Centre, Wayne State University, 22101 Moross Road, Detroit, Michigan 48230, USA
2 Department of Cardiology, Guthrie Clinic Sayre, Guthrie Square, Sayer, Pennsylvania 18840, USA
Cardiovascular Ultrasound 2006, 4:20 doi:10.1186/1476-7120-4-20
Published: 6 April 2006Abstract
Background
Before the widespread use of primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (GP IIb/IIIa) left ventricular (LV) thrombus formation had been reported to complicate up to 20% of acute myocardial infarctions (AMI). The incidence of LV thrombus formation with these treatment modalities is not well known.
Methods
92 consecutive patients with ST-elevation AMI treated with PCI and GP IIb/IIIa inhibitors underwent 2-D echocardiograms, with and without echo contrast agent, within 24–72 hours.
Results
Only 4/92 (4.3%) had an LV thrombus, representing a significantly lower incidence than that reported in the pre-PCI era. Use of contrast agents did not improve detection of LV thrombi in our study.
Conclusion
The incidence of LV thrombus formation after acute MI, in the current era of rapid reperfusion, is lower than what has been historically reported.
