Predictors of survival following veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in patients with acute myocardial infarction-related refractory cardiogenic shock: clinical and coronary angiographic factors

Cardiogenic shock is a life-threatening emergency with a high mortality rate (1). In patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI), about 7–10% are complicated by cardiogenic shock, which is associated with a high mortality rate of 50–70% (2). Increasingly, severe cases of refractory cardiogenic shock (RCS) are managed with mechanical circulatory support such as veno-arterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), which can be a bridge-to-recovery of cardiac function (3). Reports indicate that ECMO could be effectively administered to patients with AMI-related RCS and suggest the survival advantage of early ECMO-assisted primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in such circumstances (4)