The routine use of oxygen therapy in the treatment of heart attack is not supported by clinical evidence, according to a paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.
“Use of oxygen to relieve angina has been available for 100 years. However, as far back as 1950, researchers have been cautioning about its routine use in myocardial infarction,” said Professor Beasley. “Research in this area is scarce but cardiologists should be concerned as the balance of evidence suggests that its routine use in this clinical situation may cause harm.”
The only randomised, double-blind and controlled trial of oxygen therapy in the first 24 hours of myocardial infarction in 1976 showed that patients receiving routine oxygen therapy ended up having a greater amount of heart damage than those receiving room air. The likely reason for this observation was provided in the 2005 study in which the administration of high flow oxygen was shown to reduce coronary artery blood flow in stable patients with heart disease.
“For over 50 years and especially in the 1980s and 1990s, research has focused on the pharmacological agents in myocardial infarction and we have ignored the impact of routine oxygen use, despite earlier warnings,” said Professor Beasley. “Oxygen therapy should only be given if the oxygen level is significantly reduced, which is uncommon in the situation of a heart attack. We need to challenge clinical dogma because the routine use of oxygen in myocardial infarction is not supported by the evidence.”
