Primary angioplasty became the standard of care over chemical clot-busting drugs like TPA or streptokinase.

“There were a series of trials done in the 1990s comparing what used to be called primary angioplasty. So angioplasty is the Greek word way of saying opening an artery with a balloon. [...] The mechanical versus the chemical. That's right. The reason that those drugs are not more effective is not that they're not great at dissolving blood clots, although they're not perfect at it, but that by doing so you're increasing the risk of dislodging a blood clot somewhere else that might be really important.”