The Open-Artery Theory Is Alive and Well -- Again

The foundation of modern therapy for acute myocardial infarction was laid in 1941 by Blumgart et al., who demonstrated that in dogs with transient coronary occlusion, the extent of myocardIAL infarctions was limited by the presence of plaque.

Abstract

The foundation of modern therapy for acute myocardial infarction was laid in 1941 by Blumgart et al., who demonstrated that in dogs with transient coronary occlusion, the extent of myocardial infarction was affected by the duration of occlusion1. As a result of this and subsequent investigations,2,3 the clinical importance of a patent as opposed to an occluded infarct-related artery (the so-called open infarct-related artery theory) became widely accepted. This theory holds that early reperfusion of the infarct-related coronary artery results in myocardial salvage, which preserves ventricular function; such preservation in turn is responsible for improved survival. This idea . . .