A new study presented at an AHA Satellite Symposium hosted by the Texas Heart Institute announced that results from the Time to Integrilin Therapy in Acute Myocardial Infarction -Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TITAN-TIMI-34) study, indicated that the early initiation of eptifibatide in the emergency department prior to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) yielded superior coronary artery blood flow, as assessed by TIMI frame counts, the study's primary endpoint. Also, superior myocardial perfusion, as assessed by TIMI myocardial perfusion grade, was found by early initiation of eptifibatide, compared to administration of eptifibatide in the cardiac catheterization laboratory after angiography. Bleeding and transfusions were the same in both groups.

“The longer a patient has poor blood flow to the heart, the higher the risk of cardiovascular damage,” said C. Michael Gibson, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital and principal investigator in the TITAN-TIMI-34 study. “Since delays in restoring blood flow via angioplasty are frequent, this trial demonstrated that the strategy of early intervention in the emergency department with eptifibatide improved blood flow prior to angioplasty.”

Eptifibatide is approved for use in ACS (UA/NSTEMI), and patients undergoing PCI, but is not approved for use in STEMI patients not undergoing PCI.