BACKGROUND: The currently used scheme for the classification of infarct location and extent in anterior myocardial infarction (MI) is intuitive rather than being evidence-based, and recent evidence suggests that it may be misleading both in anatomic and prognostic sense. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Consecutive patients with the diagnosis of anterior MI were enrolled. All electrocardiograms (ECG) were first classified according to established scheme and then reassessed using newer criteria for angiographic site of occlusion. The site of left anterior descending (LAD) occlusion was determined using multiple angiographic views. Clinic, echocardiographic and angiographic outcomes were compared. RESULTS: A total of 379 anterior MI cases were enrolled, final study population consisted of 267 patients. The established scheme did not predict infarct size or adverse outcomes. Location of the myocardium subtended by the occluded coronary network did not match with the anatomic location as ECG classification implies. Many high-risk patients with proximal LAD were classified as "anteroseptal", whereas the majority of the patients labeled as "extensive anterior MI" had in fact distal occlusions. On the other hand, expert interpretation was fairly accurate in predicting adverse outcomes and the site of angiographic involvement. CONCLUSION: Classifying patients according to the established scheme neither gives prognostic information nor accurately localizes infarction. It should be regarded as obsolete and its use should be abandoned. Instead, the extent of infarction can be inferred from newer criteria provided by the angiographic correlation studies.
BACKGROUND: The currently used scheme for the classification of infarct location and extent in anterior myocardial infarction (MI) is intuitive rather than being evidence-based, and recent evidence suggests that it may be misleading both in anatomic and prognostic sense. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Consecutive patients with the diagnosis of anterior MI were enrolled. All electrocardiograms (ECG) were first classified according to established scheme and then reassessed using newer criteria for angiographic site of occlusion. The site of left anterior descending (LAD) occlusion was determined using multiple angiographic views. Clinic, echocardiographic and angiographic outcomes were compared. RESULTS: A total of 379 anterior MI cases were enrolled, final study population consisted of 267 patients. The established scheme did not predict infarct size or adverse outcomes. Location of the myocardium subtended by the occluded coronary network did not match with the anatomic location as ECG classification implies. Many high-risk patients with proximal LAD were classified as "anteroseptal", whereas the majority of the patients labeled as "extensive anterior MI" had in fact distal occlusions. On the other hand, expert interpretation was fairly accurate in predicting adverse outcomes and the site of angiographic involvement. CONCLUSION: Classifying patients according to the established scheme neither gives prognostic information nor accurately localizes infarction. It should be regarded as obsolete and its use should be abandoned. Instead, the extent of infarction can be inferred from newer criteria provided by the angiographic correlation studies.
Authors: D J Engelen; A P Gorgels; E C Cheriex; E D De Muinck; A J Ophuis; W R Dassen; J Vainer; V G van Ommen; H J Wellens Journal: J Am Coll Cardiol Date: 1999-08 Impact factor: 24.094
Authors: Keith A A Fox; Omar H Dabbous; Robert J Goldberg; Karen S Pieper; Kim A Eagle; Frans Van de Werf; Alvaro Avezum; Shaun G Goodman; Marcus D Flather; Frederick A Anderson; Christopher B Granger Journal: BMJ Date: 2006-10-10
Authors: Joseph Allencherril; Yama Fakhri; Henrik Engblom; Einar Heiberg; Marcus Carlsson; Jean-Luc Dubois-Rande; Sigrun Halvorsen; Trygve S Hall; Alf-Inge Larsen; Svend Eggert Jensen; Hakan Arheden; Dan Atar; Peter Clemmensen; Maria Sejersten Ripa; Yochai Birnbaum Journal: Ann Noninvasive Electrocardiol Date: 2018-07-04 Impact factor: 1.468
Authors: Juhana Karha; Sabina A Murphy; Ajay J Kirtane; James A de Lemos; Julian M Aroesty; Christopher P Cannon; Elliott M Antman; Eugene Braunwald; C Michael Gibson Journal: Am J Cardiol Date: 2003-10-15 Impact factor: 2.778