Rescue percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been used to treat patients after failed thrombolysis in acute myocardial infarction. However, the short- and long-term benefits of rescue PCI have not been known exactly. The goal of this study was to examine the clinical and angiographic outcomes, the success rate of the procedure, and the long-term survival rate after rescue PCI. The clinical and angiographic outcomes of 31 patients (Group I; 59.7 +/- 11.4 years, 80.6% male), who underwent rescue PCI were compared with those of 177 patients (Group II; 59.7 +/- 9.7 years, 79.7% male), who underwent primary PCI at Chonnam National University Hospital between January 1997 and December 1999. There were no significant differences in the risk factors for coronary artery diseases except for smoking (Group I; 24/31, 77.4% vs. Group II; 76/177, 42.9%, P = 0.011). The incidence of cardiogenic shock was higher in Group I than in Group II (Group I; 7/31, 22.6% vs. Group II; 11/177, 6.2%, P = 0.021). The coronary angiographic findings were not different between two groups, except for Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) flow of Group I was lower than in Group II (Group I; 1.14 +/- 0.93 vs. Group II; 1.61 +/- 1.14, P = 0.001). The primary success rate was 93.6% (29/31) in Group I and 94.9% (168/177) in Group II (P = 0.578). The baseline ejection fraction was lower in Group I than in Group II (Group I; 44.2 +/- 8.9% vs. Group II; 50.8 +/- 11.7, P = 0.023), which improved in both groups (Group I; 51.7 +/- 7.9% vs. Group II; 60.7 +/- 13.4%, P = 0.001 respectively) at 6 months after the procedures. The survival rates of Group I were 93.5%, 93.5%, and 90.3% and those of Group II were 94.5%, 93.7%, and 91% at 1, 6, and 12 months, respectively. Rescue PCI is associated with the risk factor of smoking. The indication for rescue PCI was more common in patents with cardiogenic shock. The success rate of rescue PCI was comparable to that of primary PCI, and left ventricular function is improved after rescue PCI on long-term clinical follow-up with relatively high survival rate.