Effect of thrombolytic therapy on ventricular function of patients with acute myocardial infarction: a single institutional experience in Iraq

Abstract

Background and objective: Early reperfusion has been shown to improve left ventricular function (LVF) and survival after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We aimed to evaluate the influence of thrombolytic therapy (TT) on LVF in patients with AMI.Methods: This study involved 100 patients who were diagnosed with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Patients were allocated into 2 groups; group I (n=50 patients) who received intravenous TT, and this was further subdivided equally into groups Ia and Ib; and group II (n=50), who did not receive TT. An echocardiographic-derived measurement of LVF at the end of the first and 6th weeks of the event was assessed. A left ventricular ejection fraction of ≥ 55% was considered a normal systolic function.Results: After adjusting for age and gender, approximately 85% of group Ia patients and 50% of group Ib patients demonstrated an EF of ≥ 55% while only 16% of patients in group II had an EF of ≥55%, regardless of the infarcted area/site.Conclusion: Thrombolytic therapy significantly improved LVF in patients with STEMI when it was administered within 12 hours of symptoms onset, than in those who did not receive this form of therapy.