Background: Deferred stenting has been recognized as beneficial for
patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI)
accompanied by a high thrombus burden. Nevertheless, its efficacy and safety
specifically in geriatric STEMI patients remain to be elucidated. This study aims
to bridge this knowledge gap and assess the potential advantages of deferred
stenting in an older patient cohort. Methods: In this study, 208
geriatric patients (aged 80 years) with STEMI and a high thrombus burden
in the infarct-related artery (IRA) were enrolled. They were categorized into two
groups: the deferred stenting group, where stent implantation was conducted after
7–8 days of continuous antithrombotic therapy, and the immediate stenting group,
where stent implantation was performed immediately. Results: In the
deferred stenting group, the stents used were significantly larger in diameter
and shorter in length compared to those in the immediate stenting group
(p 0.05). This group also exhibited a lower incidence of distal
embolism in the IRA, and higher rates of the thrombolysis in myocardial
infarction (TIMI) blood flow grade 3 and myocardial blush grade 3 (p 0.05).
Additionally, the left ventricular ejection fractions at the 1-year follow-up
were significantly higher in the deferred stenting group than in the immediate
stenting group (p 0.05). The rate of the major adverse cardiac
events in the deferred stenting group was significantly lower than in the
immediate stenting groups (p 0.05). Conclusions: Deferred
stenting for geriatric patients with STEMI and high thrombus burden demonstrates
significant clinical benefits. This approach not only reduces the incidence of
distal embolism in the IRA, but also enhances myocardial tissue perfusion and
preserves cardiac ejection function. Moreover, deferred stenting has proven to be
safe in this patient population, indicating its potential as a preferred
treatment strategy in such cases.