Cardiovascular Diagnosis and Therapy (CDT) Editorial: the Minimalist Immediate Mechanical Intervention study

Primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has become the standard of care in patients presenting with ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) (1). However, since stent implantation may cause intra-procedural thrombotic complications (IPTEs), including distal embolization of thrombus leading to microvascular obstruction (MVO) and no-reflow (2,3) some clinicians have questioned whether immediate stent implantation is mandated in all patients, or instead, whether stent implantation could be deferred for a limited period to enable the beneficial effects of restored blood flow and medical therapy. With this in mind, a number of clinical investigations of deferred stenting (DS) strategies have been assessed (4-16). This was the focus of the Minimalist Immediate Mechanical Intervention (MIMI) trial (14).