Door-to-Balloon Time With Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention for Acute Myocardial Infarction Impacts Late Cardiac Mortality in High-Risk Patients and Patients Presenting Early After the Onset of Symptoms

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of door-to-balloon time with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on late cardiac mortality. BACKGROUND: The impact of door-to-balloon time on outcomes is controversial, and the impact on late mortality has not been studied. METHODS: Consecutive patients (n = 2,322) treated with primary PCI from 1984 to 2003 were prospectively identified and followed up for a median of 83 months. RESULTS: Prolonged door-to-balloon times (0 to 1.4 h vs. 1.5 to 1.9 h vs. 2.0 to 2.9 h vs. > or =3.0 h) were associated with higher in-hospital mortality (4.9% vs. 6.1% vs. 8.0% vs. 12.2%, p < 0.0001) and late mortality (12.6% vs. 16.4% vs. 20.4% vs. 27.1% at 7 years, p < 0.0001) and were an independent predictor of late mortality by Cox regression (p = 0.0004). Prolonged door-to-balloon times (> or =2 h vs. <2 h) were associated with higher late mortality in high-risk patients (32.5% vs. 21.5%; hazard ratio [HR], 1.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.22 to 1.90; p = 0.0002) but not in low-risk patients (10.8% vs. 9.2%; HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 0.78 to 1.64; p = 0.53) and in patients presenting early (< or =3 h) (24.7% vs. 15.0%; HR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.24 to 1.90; p = 0.0001) but not late (>3 h) (21.1% vs. 18.5%; HR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.62 to 1.45; p = 0.80). CONCLUSIONS: Delays in door-to-balloon time impact late survival in high-risk but not low-risk patients and in patients presenting early but not late after the onset of symptoms. These findings have implications for the triage of patients for primary PCI.