A 65-year-old woman returns to the ED with chest pain and an ECG showing STEMI. What is the best plan of treatment for her?

The best plan of treatment for a 65-year-old woman presenting with chest pain and an ECG showing STEMI is to take her immediately to the cardiac cath lab for reperfusion. STEMI, or ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, is a critical condition characterized by a complete blockage of a coronary artery, leading to significant heart muscle damage if not treated rapidly.

Time is of the essence in treating STEMI, as the longer the heart muscle is deprived of blood flow, the greater the extent of the damage and the poorer the overall prognosis. The primary goal in managing a STEMI is to restore blood flow to the affected area of the heart as quickly as possible, typically through percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or thrombolytic therapy.

In this context, immediate intervention in the cath lab allows for reperfusion strategies that can significantly improve outcomes, including reducing mortality and complications associated with heart damage. This approach is supported by clinical guidelines, which emphasize the importance of timely revascularization in STEMI cases to minimize myocardial injury.

The other options, such as admitting her for monitoring, keeping her in observation, or discharging her with medication, do not address the urgent need to restore blood flow. Instead, they would delay necessary critical