EARLY HOSPITAL DISCHARGE AFTER DIRECT ANGIOPLASTY FOR ACUTE MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION

To determine the feasibility and safety of early hospital discharge af ter myocardial infarction, we reviewed a 3-yr experience with direct a ngioplasty: 204 patients had direct angioplasty with in-hospital morta lity of 3.4%. Of these patients, 125 were discharged <5 days after inf arction and 98% of these were available for 30-day follow-up. There wa s one early death (0.8% mortality), two early readmissions without com plications, and three late readmissions. Thus early hospital discharge a mean of 3.4 days after infarction can be achieved in >60% of patien ts undergoing direct angioplasty with no significant early complicatio ns and excellent 30-day survival (99.2%). (C) 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.