Effects of methylprednisolone on the ischemic damage in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

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Abstract
In this double-blind randomized study, 19 patients with acute transmural myocardial infarction were treated with methylprednisolone administered 4.4 +/- 0.7 hours (+/- SEM) after the onset of chest pain, and were compared with 21 patients who received placebo 4.5 +/- 0.4 hours after the start of clinical symptoms. The two groups were comparable in reference to sex, prevalence of risk factors, clinical status on admission, location of myocardial infarction and magnitude of ischemic injury as assessed by standard ECGs and precordial ST-segment and QRS maps. The treated patients, however, were older than the patients who received placebo. Methylprednisolone in an i.v. dose of 2.0 g was administered on admission and a similar dose was infused 3 hours later. Placebo administration followed an identical schedule. Mortality, cardiac rupture, incidence of ventricular arrhythmias, blocks, extension of myocardial infarction, pericarditis, postinfarction chest pain, persistent ST-segment elevation at discharge, and ...