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(Circulation. 2000;101:2026.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.

Brief Rapid Communications

Noninvasive, Transthoracic, Low-Frequency Ultrasound Augments Thrombolysis in a Canine Model of Acute Myocardial Infarction

Robert J. Siegel, MD; Shaul Atar, MD; Michael C. Fishbein, MD; Andrea V. Brasch, MD; Thomas M. Peterson, MBA; Tomoo Nagai, MD; Dharmendra Pal, MS; Toshihiko Nishioka, MD; Jang-Seong Chae, MD, PhD; Yochai Birnbaum, MD; Claudio Zanelli, PhD; Huai Luo, MD

From the Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, Calif.

Correspondence to Robert J. Siegel, MD, Division of Cardiology, Room 5335, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, 8700 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90048. E-mail siegel{at}cshs.org

Background—Limitations of coronary thrombolysis include the time to reperfusion, patency rate, and bleeding. We evaluated the use of noninvasive transcutaneous ultrasound to augment coronary thrombolysis.

Methods and Results—In 24 dogs, a thrombotic occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery was induced and documented by 12-lead ECG and coronary angiography. After 60 minutes of occlusion, tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA; 1.42 mg/kg) was given intravenously over 90 minutes. A total of 12 of the 24 dogs had concomitant transcutaneous application of low-frequency ultrasound (27 kHz) over the chest. At 90 minutes, the mean TIMI grade flow in the t-PA alone group was 0.92±1.4 compared with 2.42±1.9 in the t-PA plus ultrasound group (P=0.006). TIMI 2 to 3 flow was present in 4 of 12 cases receiving t-PA alone compared with 10 of 12 cases receiving t-PA plus ultrasound (P=0.003). At 180 minutes, mean TIMI grade flow was 0.75±1.4 in the t-PA alone group versus 2.58±0.9 in the t-PA plus ultrasound group (P=0.001). Pathological examination confirmed the angiographic patency rate and did not reveal injury secondary to ultrasound in the skin, soft tissues, heart, or lungs.

Conclusions—In vivo, the noninvasive transthoracic application of low-frequency ultrasound (1) greatly augments the efficacy of t-PA–mediated thrombolysis, (2) seems safe, and (3) has substantial potential as a noninvasive adjunct to improve coronary patency without increasing the risk of bleeding.

Key Words: thrombolysis • myocardial infarction • ultrasonics • fibrinolysis

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