Heparin pre-treatment in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and the risk of intracoronary thrombus and total vessel occlusion. Insights from the TASTE trial:

Background:Pre-treatment with unfractionated heparin is common in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) protocols, but the effect on intracoronary thrombus burden is unknown. We studied the effect of heparin pre-treatment on intracoronary thrombus burden and Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow prior to percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with STEMI.Methods:The Thrombus Aspiration in ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction in Scandinavia (TASTE) trial angiographically assessed intracoronary thrombus burden and TIMI flow, prior to percutaneous coronary intervention, in patients with STEMI. In this observational sub-study, patients pre-treated with heparin were compared with patients not pre-treated with heparin. Primary end points were a visible intracoronary thrombus and total vessel occlusion prior to percutaneous coronary intervention. Secondary end points were in-hospital bleeding, in-hospital stroke and 30-day all-cause mortality.Results:Heparin pre-treatment was admini...