Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
ASERIES of recent studies indicate that the occluded coronary artery can be recanalized in 60 to 85 per cent of cases of acute myocardial infarction if intracoronary streptokinase is infused within six hours of the onset of chest pain.1 2 3 4 This rate of recanalization is far higher than the rate found to occur spontaneously.5 , 6 Although it has been claimed that intracoronary thrombolysis can reduce myocardial damage in treated groups as compared with controls, this has not been consistently confirmed by controlled studies.7 , 8 In individual patients the extent to which myocardial necrosis is prevented by successful thrombolysis is difficult to assess because . . .
Davies et al. (Thu,) studied this question.