Corrected TIMI frame counts correlate with stenosis severity and infarct zone wall motion after thrombolytic therapy

Background The majority of patients with patent infarct-related arteries after thrombolytic therapy have slower than normal flow, which relates to myocardial perfusion. Methods To evaluate the relationships between blood levels of creatine kinase (CK) and the corrected Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) frame count (CTFC), infarct artery stenosis, and left ventricular function, we studied 397 patients with a first myocardial infarction who underwent angiography at 3 weeks. TIMI flow grades, the CTFC, infarct artery stenosis, and infarct zone wall motion (by contrast ventriculography using the centerline method) were assessed, and CK levels (in units per liter) were measured hourly for the first 4 hours after streptokinase (1.5 × 106 U over 30-60 minutes) and then every 4 hours over the next 20 hours, all blinded to treatment and outcome. Results Infarct artery stenosis and the CTFC, assessed as continuous variables, correlated in patients with patent infarct arteries (r = 0.33, P 100) had a higher fraction of chords with wall motion >2 SDs below normal (0.65 [0.41, 0.80] vs 0.37 [0.0, 0.67]) compared with patients with normal flow (CTFC ≤27) (P