Microvascular injury phenomena in myocardial infarction

At a time of a wide use of coronary reperfusion for treatment of acute myocardial infarction, the microvascular phenomena significantly affecting the postinfarction state of the myocardium have been discovered. These phenomena include microvascular obstruction with a clinical presentation in the form of the no-reflow phenomenon and intramyocardial hemorrhage that strongly aggravate cardiac damage. The aim of this review was to analyze accumulated data on the prevalence, pathophysiology, diagnostic modalities, and approaches for prevention and treatment of microvascular injury.