New horizons of acute myocardial infarction: from the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry.

As the first nationwide Korean prospective multicenter data collection registry, the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry (KAMIR) launched in November 2005. Through a number of innovative approaches, KAMIR suggested new horizons about acute myocardial infarction (AMI) which contains unique features of Asian patients from baseline characteristics to treatment strategy. Obesity paradox was existed in Korean AMI patients, whereas no gender differences among them. KAMIR score suggested new risk stratifying method with increased convenience and an enhanced accuracy for the prediction of adverse outcomes. Standard loading dose of clopidogrel was enough for Asian AMI patients. Triple antiplatelet therapy with aspirin, clopidogrel and cilostazol could improve clinical outcomes than dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and clopidogrel. Statin improved clinical outcomes even in AMI patients with very low LDL-C levels. The rate of percutaneous coronary intervention was higher and door-to-balloon time was shorter than the previous reports. Zotarolimus eluting stents as the 2nd generation drug-eluting stent (DES) was not superior to the 1st generation DES, in contrast to the western AMI studies. KAMIR made a cornerstone in the study of Korean AMI and expected to be new standards of care for AMI with the renewal of KAMIR design to overcome its pitfalls.