[Thrombolytic therapy of acute myocardial infarction].

Thrombolytic therapy has reduced the mortality of acute myocardial infarction when administered in the first 12 hours after its onset. The author reviews the evidence concerning the more difficult aspects of this treatment: do all patients derive the same benefits? How to administer the treatment as early as possible? What is the value of late thrombolytic therapy? What is the best agent and the optimal mode of administration? This article describes the state of the art at the beginning of 1995 in a rapidly evolving field of therapeutics.