Evaluation of the Patency Rate of the Coronary Arteries after Treatment with Heberkinase

Background: Intravenous thrombolytic therapy is still the most common treatment for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in our country. In recent years, some cases of suboptimal results of the treatment with a special trademark (Heberkinase) have been reported. So, we decided to evaluate the patency rate of arteries involved in infarction after treatment with Heberkinase. Materials and Methods: A total number of 110 patients admitted with AMI who received Heberkinase during the first 12 hours from beginning of symptoms and undergone Selective Coronary Angiography (SCA) during the first 20 days were enrolled in the study. TIMI flow of grade 2 or 3 and stenosis of less than 95% in the infarct-related arteries were considered as patent arteries. The findings were compared with Ejection Fraction (EF), risk factors and demographic data of the patients and also were compared with the results of previous studies. Findings: 49% of patients received Heberkinase in the first two hours, 39% between 2 -6 hours and 19% between 6 and 12 hours after beginning of symptoms. SCA was performed in 73 patients in the first 10 days and in 37 patients between days 11 to 20 (mean =8.4±4.6 days). Mean patency rate of infarct-related artery was 55%. Patency rate had no correlation with location of AMI and the infarct-related artery.EF was significantly higher in patients with patent arteries (47% versus 42%, p=0.03). Conclusion: The patency rate in our patients was about 15% less than the results reported by other investigators. The patency rate with Heberkinase was similar to the spontaneous patency rates reported in pre-thrombolytic era studies.