Feasibility and safety of thrombectomy with TVAC aspiration catheter system for patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Early reperfusion with angioplasty and stenting is established as a central, effective treatment for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The role of thrombectomy prior to angioplasty remains to be elucidated. To evaluate its feasibility, safety, and efficacy, thrombectomy using a TVAC aspiration catheter system was attempted prior to angioplasty and stenting in 40 consecutive patients with AMI. Fifty consecutive patients with AMI in whom angioplasty and stenting were performed without prior thrombectomy served as controls. Neither distribution of Killip classification nor culprit lesion was different between the two groups. In patients treated with the TVAC system, the procedure was successful in 39/40 patients (98%) and there were no procedure-related complications. In the final coronary angiogram, TIMI-3 (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction) flow was obtained in 37/40 (93%) in patients treated with the TVAC system and 43/50 (86%) in control patients. Electrocardiograms before and after coronary intervention were analyzed in patients with ST elevation AMI (35 patients treated with the TVAC system and 41 control patients). ST elevation recovery >50% of the initial value was observed after coronary intervention in 26/35 (74%) in patients treated with the TVAC system and 26/41 (63%) in control patients (P = 0.33). In the case of anterior AMI, ST elevation recovery >50% of the initial value was observed in 13/17 (76%) in patients treated with the TVAC system and 8/20 (40%) in control patients (P = 0.045). Thus, thrombectomy using a TVAC system is feasible, safe, and may have the potential to enhance ST-segment resolution in patients with anterior AMI.