Delays in Seeking Treatment for a Heart Attack Decreases Options
The findings, which were presented on Monday at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions by researchers at the Mayo Clinic, emphasize the fact that getting to hospital early is the best way of ensuring good care if you suffer a heart attack.
"This research should emphasize to patients that getting help immediately, by calling 911, gives them the best chance of receiving treatments we know can help save their lives or lessen the damage to their hearts," says Henry Ting, M.D., lead Mayo Clinic cardiovascular researcher in a press release. "If patients wait at home for hours with symptoms and come in later, unfortunately they aren't getting the proper treatments."
Researchers looked at past heart attack records of 440,398 patients for indications of when each person received treatment. They also determined how long it took for a patient to receive therapy after arriving at the hospital for treatment.
Currently, the best available treatment for a serious heart attack is reperfusion therapy. For this treatment, a balloon is placed near the blockage to open the artery. A similar treatment can also be accomplished by giving the heart attack victim medication that will dissolve the clot. Both treatments restore blood flow, preventing pieces of the heart muscle from dying.
If a patient arrived at the hospital complaining of heart attack symptoms that had started one or two hours previously, they had a 77 percent chance of getting reperfusion therapy. For patients that arrived three to four hours after first getting symptoms, they had a 73 percent chance of receiving treatment. However, only 46 percent of patients that arrived within 11 to 12 hours after symptoms of a heart attack presented themselves received treatment.
Patients have the best chance of receiving good treatment if they follow the American Heart Association guidelines. If a person has the symptoms of a heart attack for longer than five minutes, the American Heart Association recommends calling 911 to receive emergency care. The same cautious approach should be taken if the person does not respond to the use of a nitroglycerin pill under the tongue within the five minute time period.
Source:
Mayo Clinic, "Mayo Clinic identifies new risk factor for heart attack patients" Eurekalert
Published by Kay Jones
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