The Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Trial

Acute myocardial infarction is a major public health problem that resulted in an estimated 676,000 hospital admissions in 1983.1 Thrombolytic therapy with reperfusion of ischemic, not yet necrotic myocardium is a promising but unproved addition to conventional coronary care, which may actually limit infarct size if given soon after the onset of infarction.2 3 4 5 6 Ligation of canine coronary arteries followed by ligature release and reperfusion has demonstrated that necrosis is complete by six hours.7 , 8 The time course of necrosis after coronary occlusion in human beings with chronic coronary artery disease is probably similar. Therefore, if thrombolytic therapy is to have a . . .