Main treatment for STEMI?

Main treatment for STEMI?

• A. MONA
• B. Reperfusion therapy
• C. Antibiotics
• D. Physical therapy

Answer: (B)

In STEMI, the priority is to restore blood flow to the blocked coronary artery as quickly as possible to limit heart muscle damage and improve survival. Reperfusion therapy achieves this and is the main treatment because it directly addresses the cause of the myocardial injury—the occluded artery. The fastest and most effective way to reperfuse is primary PCI (angioplasty with stent) if it can be performed promptly. If PCI can't be done within a recommended window, thrombolytic (fibrinolytic) therapy is used to dissolve the clot. Time is critical here: aim for door-to-balloon time within about 90 minutes or door-to-needle time within about 30 minutes when thrombolysis is indicated. Other interventions play supportive or adjunct roles but do not replace reperfusion as the central treatment. MONA—historically taught as a starter regimen—includes morphine, oxygen, nitrates, and aspirin, but it is not the definitive treatment for STEMI; aspirin and certain other measures may be used, but the key life-saving step is restoring blood flow. Antibiotics have no role in acute STEMI, and physical therapy is part of recovery and rehabilitation after the event, not the immediate management.

In STEMI, the priority is to restore blood flow to the blocked coronary artery as quickly as possible to limit heart muscle damage and improve survival. Reperfusion therapy achieves this and is the main treatment because it directly addresses the cause of the myocardial injury—the occluded artery. The fastest and most effective way to reperfuse is primary PCI (angioplasty with stent) if it can be performed promptly. If PCI can't be done within a recommended window, thrombolytic (fibrinolytic) therapy is used to dissolve the clot. Time is critical here: aim for door-to-balloon time within about 90 minutes or door-to-needle time within about 30 minutes when thrombolysis is indicated.

Other interventions play supportive or adjunct roles but do not replace reperfusion as the central treatment. MONA—historically taught as a starter regimen—includes morphine, oxygen, nitrates, and aspirin, but it is not the definitive treatment for STEMI; aspirin and certain other measures may be used, but the key life-saving step is restoring blood flow. Antibiotics have no role in acute STEMI, and physical therapy is part of recovery and rehabilitation after the event, not the immediate management.