Combination therapy for evolving myocardial infarction: intracoronary thrombolysis and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty.

Nonsurgical coronary reperfusion for evolving myocardial infarction is a promising new technique for the salvage of jeopardized myocardium. Successful reperfusion can be established by intracoronary infusion of streptokinase in approximately 75 percent of patients within the first 6 hours of transmural infarction [1.2]. Following recanalization, most patients are left with high grade fixed coronary stenoses which are potential sites for recurrent thrombus formation. Since the underlying site for coronary thrombosis is still present, reocclusion may occur. Indeed, early experience suggests that recurrence of thrombosis is not uncommon [3.4]. Therapy for evolving myocardial infarction should, in some patients, involve not only thrombolysis, but also an attack on the fixed coronary lesion. We describe a patient wit evolving myocardial infarction who was treated successfully with combination therapy consisting of intracoronary streptokinase followed by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty [5].