Summary

The Occluded Artery Trial [OAT], a large multicenter trial, was conducted at 217 sites around the world in 27 countries. There is no question that early reperfusion enhances left ventricular function and survival in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). This trial, however, set out to answer the question of whether or not late reperfusion would reduce by 25% the occurrence of a composite endpoint of death, reinfarction, or heart failure (NYHA class IV).