• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.31-39
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• 2024

This study was conducted to determine whether level-1 emergency medical technicians (EMTs) can adequately recognize ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in the emergency department (ED) and whether their ability to do so differs from that of emergency medicine physicians (EMP). From December 2022 to November 2023, patients aged 20 years or older visiting the ED with chief complaints suggesting acute coronary syndrome (ACS) were enrolled. As soon as the patient arrived at the ED, a level-1 EMT conducted a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG) to assess STEMI; an EMP subsequently assessed whether to activate the percutaneous coronary intervention team. Demographic characteristics, test results, and final diagnoses were collected from the medical records. Among the 723 patients with case report forms, 720 were included in the analysis. These were categorized as follows: 117 (16.3%) with STEMI, 159 (22.1%) with non-ST-segment elevation ACS, and 444 (61.7%) with other conditions. STEMI was correctly recognized in 100 patients (91.7%) by level-1 EMTs and in 104 patients (95.4%) by EMPs (kappa=0.646). EMTs with less than 1 year of ED work experience correctly recognized 60 out of 67 STEMI patients (89.6%), which was comparable with the EMPs who recognized 65 out of 67 STEMI patients (97.0%, kappa=0.614). EMTs with more than 1 year of ED work correctly recognized 40 out of 42 STEMI patients (95.2%), and therefore performed better than EMPs, who recognized 39 out of 42 STEMI patients (92.9%, kappa=0.727). The level-1 EMTs adequately recognized STEMI using a 12-lead ECG and were in substantial agreement with the evaluations of the EMPs.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.198-207
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• 2015

ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and chronic total occlusion (CTO) of coronary artery are well-known atherosclerotic vascular diseases. However, the difference of intima-media thickness and plaque characteristics of carotid arteries between STEMI and CTO patients were not directly compared in previous studies. Medical records of a total of 158 (101 STEMI, 57 CTO) patients, who underwent carotid artery ultrasonography, were selected for the analysis. The baseline characteristics, ultrasonography findings, and clinical outcomes of the two groups were compared. The prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia was significantly higher in CTO patients. Carotid intima-media thickness ($0.97{\pm}0.13$ vs. $0.78{\pm}0.17cm$, P < 0.0001) and number of plaques ($2.2{\pm}1.0$ vs. $1.7{\pm}1.2$, P < 0.0001) were greater in CTO than STEMI patients. Multiple (${\geq}3$) or echogenic plaques were more frequently observed in CTO patients. During the median follow-up duration of 27 months, major adverse cardiovascular events occurred in 31% of CTO and 14% of STEMI patients (P = 0.008). We found that, compared with STEMI, CTO patients have higher burden of carotid artery atherosclerosis associated with more comorbid diseases and poor clinical outcomes.

• The Korean Journal of Emergency Medical Services
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.141-145
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• 2020

The most common symptom of aortic dissection is chest pain, which is similar to acute coronary artery syndrome, making it difficult to diagnose with clinical pattern, requiring various diagnostic methods. About 10-15% of the aortic dissection patients are accompanied by changes in the ST segment by the dissecting flap of the coronary opening, which can lead to delayed diagnosis of aortic dissection, or can adversely affect the patient by administration to unnecessary drugs such as nitroglycerin, thrombolytic agent, and anticoagulants. It is difficult to distinguish aortic dissection from an acute myocardial infarction only through a 12-Lead electrocardiogram at the pre-hospital. The application of cardiac ultrasonography through medical direction to chest pain patients who show ST segmental changes in pre-hospital phase will contribute to the diagnosis of aortic dissection and the improvement of survival rate, such as anticoagulant administration, to patients with acute myocardial infarction.

• Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.169-180
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: We analyzed whether C-11 acetate positron emission tomography (PET) can be used for the evaluation of non-infarct-related artery (NIRA) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and multivessel disease. METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 31 patients with STEMI and at least one NIRA stenosis (diameter stenosis [DS] ≥ 50%). C-11 acetate PET was performed after successful revascularization for the infarct-related artery (IRA). Myocardial blood flow (MBF) and oxidative metabolism (k_mono) were measured and compared between NIRA vs. IRA, stenotic (DS ≥ 50%) vs. non-stenotic (DS < 50%) NIRAs, and NIRAs with significant stenosis (DS ≥ 70% or fractional flow reserve [FFR] ≤ 0.80) vs. those without (neither DS ≥ 70% nor FFR ≤ 0.80). The correlations between PET and angiographic parameters were also analyzed. RESULTS: MBF and k_mono were significantly higher in NIRAs than those in IRAs. Stenotic NIRAs showed significantly reduced stress MBF, myocardial flow reserve (MFR), relative flow reserve (RFR) (0.72 ± 0.12 vs. 0.82 ± 0.14; p = 0.001), and stress k_mono, as compared to those in non-stenotic NIRAs. NIRAs with significant stenosis had significantly lower stress MBF, MFR, and RFR (0.70 ± 0.10 vs. 0.80 ± 0.14; p = 0.001). RFR showed the best, but modest linear correlation with DS of NIRA stenosis (r = -0.429, p = 0.001). RFR > 0.81 could effectively exclude the presence of significant NIRA stenosis. CONCLUSIONS: C-11 acetate PET could be a feasible alternative noninvasive modality in patients with STEMI and multivessel disease, by excluding the presence of significant NIRA stenosis.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.12-24
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• 2014

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore whether emergency bell could shorten door to electrocardiograms (ECG) time in chest pain patients presenting to emergency department (ED) by self-transport. Methods: This was a planned 6-month before-and-after interventional study design. We set up the emergency bell in walk-in patients' waiting room. Prior to the change, patients were triaged before an ECG was obtained. In new process, as soon as patient with chest pain push the emergency bell, emergency physicians examined patient and prioritized performing ECG. We analyzed door to electrocardiograms (DTE) times for patients with chest pain and ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients between two periods. Results: During the enrollment period, a total of 63 patients called emergency bell. The median DTE time was 6 min (interquartile range: 3.0 - 9.0) and 82.5% received an ECG within 10 minutes, and only three patients were STEMI. DTE time in patient with chest pain was not different between two periods (p=0.980). Before intervention period, 15 walk-in patients admitted in ED for STEMI and 53.8% of STEMI patients received an ECG within 10 minutes. After intervention period, total 19 walk-in patients admitted in ED for STEMI. Of these, 89.5% met the time requirement. Conclusion: Because a small portion of patients with chest pain activated the emergency bell, new strategy for promotion of emergency bell must be needed.

• Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.185-196
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• 2022

BACKGROUND: Two-dimensional (2D) strain provides more predictive power than ejection fraction (EF) in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). 3D strain and EF are also expected to have better clinical usefulness and overcome several inherent limitations of 2D strain. We aimed to clarify the prognostic significance of 3D strain analysis in patients with STEMI. METHODS: Patients who underwent successful revascularization for STEMI were retrospectively recruited. In addition to conventional parameters, 3D EF, global longitudinal strain (GLS), global area strain (GAS), as well as 2D GLS were obtained. We constructed a composite outcome consisting of all-cause death or re-hospitalization for acute heart failure or ventricular arrhythmia. RESULTS: Of 632 STEMI patients, 545 patients (86.2%) had a reliable 3D strain analysis. During median follow-up of 49.5 months, 55 (10.1%) patients experienced the adverse outcome. Left ventricle EF, 2D GLS, 3D EF, 3D GLS, and 3D GAS were significantly associated with poor outcomes. (all, p < 0.001) The maximum likelihood-ratio test was performed to evaluate the additional prognostic value of 2D GLS or 3D GLS over the prognostic model consisting of clinical characteristics and EF, and the likelihood ratio was 15.9 for 2D GLS (p < 0.001) and 1.49 for 3D GLS (p = 0.22). CONCLUSIONS: The predictive power of 3D strain was slightly lower than the 2D strain. Although we can obtain 3D strains, volume, and EF simultaneously in same cycle, the clinical implications of 3D strains in STEMI need to be investigated further.

• Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.181-184
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• 2022

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.55 no.4
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• pp.351-359
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• 2022

Objectives: The Regional CardioCerebroVascular Center (RCCVC) project was initiated to improve clinical outcomes for patients with acute myocardial infarction or stroke in non-capital areas of Korea. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes and issues identified by the Busan RCCVC project in the treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Methods: Among the patients who were registered in the Korean Registry of Acute Myocardial Infarction for the RCCVC project between 2007 and 2019, those who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for STEMI at the Busan RCCVC were selected, and their medical data were compared with a historical cohort. Results: In total, 1161 patients were selected for the analysis. Ten years after the implementation of the Busan RCCVC project, the median door-to-balloon time was reduced from 86 (interquartile range [IQR], 64-116) to 54 (IQR, 44-61) minutes, and the median symptom-to-balloon time was reduced from 256 (IQR, 180-407) to 189 (IQR, 118-305) minutes (p<0.001). Inversely, the false-positive PCI team activation rate increased from 0.6% to 21.4% (p<0.001). However, the 1-year cardiovascular death and major adverse cardiac event rates did not change. Even after 10 years, approximately 75% of the patients had a symptom-to-balloon time over 120 minutes, and approximately 50% of the patients underwent inter-hospital transfer for primary PCI. Conclusions: A decade after the implementation of the Busan RCCVC project, although time parameters for early reperfusion therapy for STEMI improved, at the cost of an increased false-positive PCI team activation rate, survival outcomes were unchanged.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.827-837
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• 2023

Objective: To investigate the predictive value of radiomics features based on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) cine images for left ventricular adverse remodeling (LVAR) after acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective, single-center, cohort study involving 244 patients (random-split into 170 and 74 for training and testing, respectively) having an acute STEMI (88.5% males, 57.0 ± 10.3 years of age) who underwent CMR examination at one week and six months after percutaneous coronary intervention. LVAR was defined as a 20% increase in left ventricular end-diastolic volume 6 months after acute STEMI. Radiomics features were extracted from the oneweek CMR cine images using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression (LASSO) analysis. The predictive performance of the selected features was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and the area under the curve (AUC). Results: Nine radiomics features with non-zero coefficients were included in the LASSO regression of the radiomics score (RAD score). Infarct size (odds ratio [OR]: 1.04 (1.00-1.07); P = 0.031) and RAD score (OR: 3.43 (2.34-5.28); P < 0.001) were independent predictors of LVAR. The RAD score predicted LVAR, with an AUC (95% confidence interval [CI]) of 0.82 (0.75-0.89) in the training set and 0.75 (0.62-0.89) in the testing set. Combining the RAD score with infarct size yielded favorable performance in predicting LVAR, with an AUC of 0.84 (0.72-0.95). Moreover, the addition of the RAD score to the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) significantly increased the AUC from 0.68 (0.52-0.84) to 0.82 (0.70-0.93) (P = 0.018), which was also comparable to the prediction provided by the combined microvascular obstruction, infarct size, and LVEF with an AUC of 0.79 (0.65-0.94) (P = 0.727). Conclusion: Radiomics analysis using non-contrast cine CMR can predict LVAR after STEMI independently and incrementally to LVEF and may provide an alternative to traditional CMR parameters.

• Korean Circulation Journal
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• v.48 no.11
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• pp.989-999
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• 2018

Background and Objectives: We aimed to compare outcomes of complete revascularization (CR) versus culprit-only revascularization for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) and multivessel disease (MVD) in the $2^{nd}$ generation drug-eluting stent (DES) era. Methods: From 2009 to 2014, patients with STEMI and MVD, who underwent primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) using a $2^{nd}$ generation DES for culprit lesions were enrolled. CR was defined as PCI for a non-infarct-related artery during the index admission. Major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) was defined as cardiovascular (CV) death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, target lesion revascularization, or heart failure during the follow-up year. Results: In total, 705 MVD patients were suitable for the analysis, of whom 286 (41%) underwent culprit-only PCI and 419 (59%) underwent CR during the index admission. The incidence of MACE was 11.5% in the CR group versus 18.5% in the culprit-only group (hazard ratio [HR], 0.56; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.37-0.86; p<0.01; adjusted HR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.40-0.99; p=0.04). The CR group revealed a significantly lower incidence of CV death (7.2% vs. 12.9%; HR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.31-0.86; p=0.01 and adjusted HR, 0.57; 95% CI; 0.32-0.97; p=0.03, respectively). Conclusions: CR was associated with better outcomes including reductions in MACE and CV death at 1 year of follow-up compared with culprit-only PCI in the $2^{nd}$ generation DES era.