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Acute coronary syndrome; Myocardial infarction
Treatment options for heart attack, and acute coronary syndrome, include:
Early supportive treatments are similar for patients who have ACS or those who have had a heart attack.
Oxygen. Oxygen is almost always administered right away, usually through a tube that enters through the nose.
Aspirin. The patient is given aspirin if one was not taken at home.
Medications for Relieving Symptoms.
With a heart attack, clots form in the coronary arteries that supply oxygen to the heart muscle. Opening a clotted artery as quickly as possible is the best approach to improving survival and limiting the amount of heart muscle that is permanently damaged.
The standard medical and surgical solutions for opening arteries are:
Factors considered in choosing a strategy include:
Thrombolytic, also called clot-busting or fibrinolytic, drugs are recommended as alternatives to angioplasty. These drugs dissolve the clot, or thrombus, responsible for causing artery blockage and heart-muscle tissue death.
Generally speaking, thrombolysis is considered a good option for patients with full-thickness (STEMI) heart attacks when symptoms have been present for fewer than 3 hours. Ideally, these drugs should be given within 30 minutes of arriving at the hospital if angioplasty is not a viable option. Other situations where it may be used include when:
Thrombolytics should be avoided or used with great caution in the following patients after heart attack:
Specific Thrombolytics. The standard thrombolytic drugs are recombinant tissue plasminogen activators or rt-PAs. They include alteplase (Activase) and reteplase (Retavase) as well as a newer drug tenecteplase (TNKase).
Thrombolytic Administration. The sooner that thrombolytic drugs are given after a heart attack, the better. The benefits of thrombolytics are highest within the first 3 hours. They can still help if given within 12 hours of a heart attack.
Complications. Hemorrhagic stroke, usually occurring during the first day, is the most serious complication of thrombolytic therapy, but fortunately it is rare.
Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), also called angioplasty, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery are the standard operations for opening narrowed or blocked arteries. They are known as revascularization procedures.
Most patients who meet the criteria for either thrombolytic drugs or angioplasty do better with angioplasty (although only in centers equipped to do this procedure).
Angioplasty/PCI involves procedures such as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) that help open the blocked artery. A typical angioplasty procedure involves the following steps:
Complications occur in about 10% of patients (about 80% of complications occur within the first day). Best results occur in hospital settings with experienced teams and backup. Women who have angioplasty after a heart attack have a higher risk of death than men.
Reclosure and Blockage During or After Angioplasty. Narrowing or reclosure of the artery (restenosis) often occurs during or shortly after angioplasty. It can also occur up to a year after surgery, requiring a repeat angioplasty procedure.
Drug-eluting stents, which are coated with sirolimus (Rapamune) or paclitaxel (Taxol), can help prevent restenosis. They may be better than bare metal stents for patients who have experienced a STEMI heart attack, but they can also increase the risks of blood clots.
It is very important for patients who have drug-eluting stents to take aspirin and clopidogrel (Plavix) for at least 1 year after the stent is inserted, to reduce the risk of blood clots. Clopidogrel, like aspirin, helps to prevent blood platelets from clumping together. If for some reason patients cannot take clopidogrel along with aspirin after angioplasty and stenting, they should receive a bare metal stent instead of a drug-eluting stent. In rare cases, a drug called ticlopidine is used instead of clopidogrel. [For more information, see In-Depth Report #03: Coronary artery disease.]
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery (CABG). Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) is the alternative procedure to angioplasty for opening blocked arteries in patients with severe angina, particularly those who have two or more blocked arteries. It is a very invasive procedure, however:
Mortality rates with this procedure after a heart attack are much higher (6%) than when it is used electively (1 - 2%). How or when it should be used after a heart attack is controversial.
Severely ill patients, particularly those with heart failure or who are in cardiogenic shock (a dangerous condition that includes a drop in blood pressure and other abnormalities), will be monitored closely and stabilized. Oxygen is administered, and fluids are given or replaced when it is appropriate to either increase or reduce blood pressure. Such patients may be given dopamine, dobutamine, or both. Other treatments depend on the specific condition.
Heart failure. Intravenous furosemide may be administered. Patients may also be given nitrates, and ACE inhibitors, unless they have a severe drop in blood pressure or other conditions that preclude them. Clot-busting drugs or angioplasty may be appropriate and life-saving in many of these patients, although heart failure patients are less likely to receive these treatments.
Cardiogenic Shock. A procedure called intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation (IABP) can help patients with cardiogenic shock when used in combination with thrombolytic therapy. IABP involves inserting a catheter containing a balloon, which is inflated and deflated within the artery to boost blood pressure. Left ventricular assist devices and early angioplasty might also be considered.
An arrhythmia is a deviation from the heart's normal beating pattern caused when the heart muscle is deprived of oxygen and is a dangerous side effect of a heart attack. A very fast or slow rhythmic heart rate often occurs in patients who have had a heart attack, and is not usually a dangerous sign.
Premature beats or very fast arrhythmias called tachycardia, however, may be predictors of ventricular fibrillation. This is a lethal rhythm abnormality, in which the ventricles of the heart beat so rapidly that they do not actually contract but quiver ineffectually. The pumping action necessary to keep blood circulating is lost.
Preventing Ventricular Fibrillation. People who develop ventricular fibrillation do not always experience warning arrhythmias, and to date, there are no effective drugs for preventing arrhythmias during a heart attack.
Treating Ventricular Fibrillation.
Managing Other Arrhythmias. People with an arrhythmia called atrial fibrillation have a higher risk for stroke after a heart attack and should be treated with anticoagulants such as warfarin (Coumadin). Other rhythm disturbances called bradyarrhythmias (very slow rhythm disturbances) frequently develop in association with a heart attack and may be treated with atropine or pacemakers.
[For more information on atrial fibrillation, ICDs, and pacemakers see In-Depth Report #45: Stroke.]
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