Age-related use of fibrinolytic therapy in acute myocardial infarction was studied for patients admitted to the intensive care unit in four hospitals comprising 10% of the national hospital bed capacity in Norway. Altogether, 446 patients were included. All had validated acute myocardial infarction or acute ischaemic coronary heart disease treated with fibrinolytic medication. The fibrinolytic treatment rate decreased linearly from 74% among patients younger than 50 years to 15% among those older than 80 (p