Single-lead ST-segment deviation after primary angioplasty

Single-lead ST-segment deviation after primary angioplasty

By Caroline Price

04 January 2008

Heart 2008; 94: 44-47

MedWire News: Residual ST-segment deviation in a single lead 3 hours after primary angioplasty in ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients is an “easy and accurate” predictor of 1-year mortality, cardiologists report.

Electrocardiography (ECG) is a simple way to measure reperfusion outcomes, with ST-segment deviation providing better prognostic accuracy than ST-segment resolution, explain A van’t Hof (Hospital De Weezenlanden, Zwolle, The Netherlands) and team.

To evaluate the prognostic role of postprocedural single-lead ST-segment deviation (STD) in primary angioplasty, relative to single-lead ST-segment resolution and elevation, and 12-lead ST-segment deviation, the researchers prospectively studied 1660 STEMI patients undergoing the procedure between 1997 and 2002.

Successful reperfusion was defined as postprocedural thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) 3 flow, residual stenosis <50%, and myocardial blush grade (MBG) 2-3. ECGs were recorded at 3 hours after the procedure.

As reported in the journal Heart, maximal residual STD correlated well with postprocedural MBG 3, distal embolization, enzymatic infarct size, and predischarge left ventricular ejection fraction.

At 1 year of follow-up, 63 (3.8%) patients had died. In multivariate analysis, after correction for baseline characteristics, maximal residual single-lead STD was the strongest predictor of mortality of all postprocedural ECG measures, at a hazard ratio of 1.87 (p<0.001).

Using receiver operating characteristic curves, the researchers identified ≥2 mm as the optimal threshold for maximal single-lead STD.

“The simple evaluation of maximal residual STD in a single lead 3 hours after the procedure is the best electrocardiographic measure for the evaluation of myocardial perfusion and prognostic stratification of patients with STEMI treated with primary angioplasty,” the authors write.

Link: http://heart.bmj.com/cgi/content/abstract/94/1/44