Rethinking “Time is Muscle”
Rethinking “Time is Muscle”
STEMI DTU Trial — Late-Breaking Insights
ACC 2026 | News-Medical / Medscape / TCTMD Coverage
Concept
• Delaying PCI ~30–45 min with Impella support in stable BP patients
👉 No benefit — but no harm despite delay
Implication
👉 “Time is muscle” is not absolute
👉 A short, controlled delay may open the door to future LV unloading protection research
🧠 Bottom Line
Immediate PCI remains the standard of care.
While Impella showed no infarct reduction in stable patients,
the ‘no benefit, no harm’ finding opens the door to further research and rethinking reperfusion timing.
https://www.abiomed.com/en-us/about-us/news-and-media/press-releases/stemi-dtu-acc-2026
