Intracoronary Artery Retrograde Thrombolysis Coupled with Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: a Novel Use of Thrombolytics to Treat Acute ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Background Clearance of coronary arterial thrombosis is necessary in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) undergoing urgent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). There is currently no highly-recommended method of thrombus removal during interventional procedures. We describe a new method for opening culprit vessels to treat STEMI: intracoronary arterial retrograde thrombolysis (ICART) with PCI.