‘False positive’ catheterization laboratory activations were defined as

those activations that did not meet electrocardiographic criteria for STEMI or those in which no revascularization was required. The definition for DTB time was the time from first registered hospital contact to first intervention that restored blood flow to the culprit vessel. For transferred patients, DTB time was MK-1775 mouse the time from first registered hospital contact at the outside institution as recorded on transfer records. Door-to-call was the time from hospital arrival to the first notification given to the interventional cardiologist on call. Call-to-lab was the time from initial call to arrival at the interventional suite. Call-to-balloon is defined as the time from initial call to the first intervention that restored blood flow to the culprit vessel. Door-to-EKG is the time from hospital arrival to first electrocardiogram

considered to be STEMI qualifying according to preset criteria. EKG-to-call is the time from qualifying electrocardiogram to first call notification of a possible ACS. Other, more detailed parameters recorded in our institution were: Lab-to-balloon, representing time from catheterization suite arrival to first intervention that restored flow to the culprit vessel, lab-to-case start, as time from patient arrival to the interventional suite to time were first invasive action took place (generally initial stick) and case start-to-balloon as the time from first invasive SB203580 purchase action to first intervention that restored blood flow to the culprit vessel. In-hospital major adverse cardiac events (MACE) were defined as the occurrence of death from any cause, Q-wave myocardial infarction Ketanserin (MI) or target lesion revascularization (TLR) before hospital discharge. Q-wave MI is defined as an elevation of creatine kinase-MB ≥3 times the upper normal value in the presence of new pathologic Q waves in ≥2 contiguous leads of the electrocardiogram. TLR

is defined as clinically driven revascularization of the index lesion. PCI angiographic success is defined as a residual stenosis of <30% with thrombolysis in myocardial infarction grade III flow. Clinical success is defined as angiographic success plus the absence of TLR, Q-wave MI, or death prior to hospital discharge. PCI was performed according to guidelines current at the time of the procedure. In all cases, the interventional strategy and the choice of peri-procedural and discharge medications were at the discretion of the responsible physician. Anticoagulation regimens included either bivalirudin 0.75 mg/kg followed by an infusion of 1.75 mg/kg/hour for the duration of the procedure or unfractionated heparin to achieve an activated clotting time of 200–300 seconds in all patients. All patients received an aspirin loading dose of 325 mg and were prescribed 81–325 mg once daily indefinitely.