What Researchers Did
Researchers randomized 74 patients with acute myocardial infarction to receive either hyperbaric oxygen combined with streptokinase or streptokinase alone to assess its effect on left ventricular chamber stiffness.
What They Found
They found that hyperbaric oxygen treatment did not significantly affect left ventricular chamber stiffness, as measured by deceleration time, compared to streptokinase alone. For both groups, deceleration time decreased nonsignificantly from day 1 to day 3 and increased on day 7 (P <.001).
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Canadian patients recovering from a heart attack should not expect hyperbaric oxygen therapy to improve their left ventricular chamber stiffness. Current evidence suggests this specific treatment does not offer a practical benefit for this aspect of cardiac recovery.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection.
Study Limitations
The study's findings are limited by its focus on a single echocardiographic parameter for stiffness and the relatively small sample size.