Reperfusion for STEMI in current Canadian practice: Are we closing the care gap?

The current standard of care for patients presenting with acute ST-segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) includes early reperfusion therapy with either fibrinolytics or primary percutaneous coronary intervention (primary PCI). Previous registry data has shown that 30% of patients with STEMI receive neither form of reperfusion (1,2,3). Furthermore, untreated patients have 30-day mortality rates that are 2-3 times higher than those who are treated (3,4). The goal of the present study is to document the current prevalence of reperfusion therapy at three Canadian teaching hospitals and to identify underlying demographic and clinical factors that correlate with rates of reperfusion in these patients.