The recommended door-to-balloon time for PCI in STEMI is how many minutes?

The recommended door-to-balloon time for PCI in STEMI is how many minutes?

• A. 60 minutes
• B. 90 minutes
• C. 120 minutes
• D. 30 minutes

Answer: (B)

The key idea is how quickly a blocked coronary artery is opened to minimize heart muscle damage in STEMI. The goal for primary PCI is to achieve reperfusion within 90 minutes from when the patient first presents to the hospital. This 90-minute target reflects evidence showing that shorter times save lives and reduce infarct size, so systems of care emphasize rapid cath-lab activation, streamlined triage, and direct-to-PCI pathways to meet this window. In practice, some highly optimized programs with prehospital ECGs and direct cath-lab activation can push times closer to 60 minutes, but the standard guideline target most healthcare training emphasizes remains 90 minutes. If PCI cannot be performed within that window, fibrinolysis can be considered as an alternative reperfusion strategy while arranging transfer for PCI.

The key idea is how quickly a blocked coronary artery is opened to minimize heart muscle damage in STEMI. The goal for primary PCI is to achieve reperfusion within 90 minutes from when the patient first presents to the hospital. This 90-minute target reflects evidence showing that shorter times save lives and reduce infarct size, so systems of care emphasize rapid cath-lab activation, streamlined triage, and direct-to-PCI pathways to meet this window. In practice, some highly optimized programs with prehospital ECGs and direct cath-lab activation can push times closer to 60 minutes, but the standard guideline target most healthcare training emphasizes remains 90 minutes. If PCI cannot be performed within that window, fibrinolysis can be considered as an alternative reperfusion strategy while arranging transfer for PCI.