Summary

Rheolytic thrombectomy plus stenting is associated with better 6-month outcomes and improved myocardial reperfusion compared with direct stenting alone in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction. While procedure time was higher in the thrombectomy group (60 minutes) than in the direct stenting group (46 minutes; p<0.001), this did not appear to impact the rate of procedural complications, such as the need for pacing to vessel perforation. This article discusses results from the Comparison of Angiojet Rheolytic Thrombectomy Before Direct Infarct Artery Stenting to Direct Stenting Alone in Patients with Acute Myocardial Infarction [JETSTENT; NCT00275990[Trial].