**4.2 Applicability of sampling of LAD blood velocities**

68 Echocardiography – In Specific Diseases

LAD flow tended to be higher early after primary angioplasty in subjects pre-treated with eptifibatide, however on the following evaluations during mid-hospital stay and pre-

Fig. 10. Histogram of diastolic flow in the LAD in patients with and those without

and at discharge, with epifibatide 43.8±8.2% and in those without 45±8.9%, p=ns.

LV-WMSI early

LVEF(%) 5 Days

LVEF with epifibatide at baseline 37±6.5% was similar to that in those without, 36.7±4.4%,

EPT-Yes 37±6.49 43.8±8.2 1.68±0.17 1.49±0.295 2.15±0.2 1.83±0.43 EPT-NO 36.7±4.4 45±8.9 1.6±0.24 1.39±0.32 2±10.4 1.63±0.55

(Yes/No) 0.79 0.687 0.296 0.282 0.165 0.258

In this study, per-treatment of patients with acute anterior STEMI undergoing primary coronary angioplasty prevented severe dysfunction of the coronary microcirculation as

LV-WMSI 5 Days

LAD-WMSI early

LAD-WMSI 5 Days

discharge diastolic flow in the LAD was similar in both groups.

**3.4 LAD Flow** 

eptifibatide treatment.

P

**3.5 Left ventricular systolic function** 

LVEF (%) Early

Table 3. LV Systolic Function

**4.1 Brief summary of results** 

**4. Discussion** 

Transthoracic Doppler sampling of coronary blood velocities is not mentioned or not stressed sufficiently in most textbooks of echocardiography. Thus, the importance of this study is related not only to the treatment of patients with acute STEMI. We found that sampling of LAD blood velocities was possible in all the patients and at all occasions. We believe that sampling of LAD blood velocities should be applied widely and repeated when needed and in all echocardiographic studies. In fact, electrocardiographic recording is performed when patients have chest pain, and in a similar fashion, echocardiography and sampling of coronary blood velocity may be performed in such patients in coronary care units.
