STEMI treatment in areas remote from primary PCI centres.

In remote, sparsely populated areas with long transfer distances to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centres it is impossible to deliver PCI within the recommended time limits, and fibrinolysis should be the treatment of choice in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Fibrinolysis should preferably be administered in the pre-hospital setting. Patients with contraindications to fibrinolysis, late presenters and patients with cardiogenic shock should be transferred for primary PCI, even when the transfer delays are substantial. Fibrinolytic therapy is not the final step of reperfusion treatment, but should be followed by transfer to a PCI centre as soon as possible for rescue PCI or routine angiography with PCI if indicated. The optimal timing of routine angiography following fibrinolysis is not settled, but recent trials suggest a time window of two to 12 hours. A well-organised system of care with clear treatment protocols and coordinated transfer systems is necessary for identifying treatment-eligible patients for on-site fibrinolysis or transfer for primary PCI, and for ensuring that therapies are available in a timely manner 24 hours a day, seven days a week. A well-organised STEMI network is also necessary for early transfer of lytic treated patients for rescue PCI or routine angiography.