While the time it takes for heart attack patients to receive an angioplasty following hospital arrival has dropped, a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine found there has not been a corresponding drop in heart attack death rates.
Researchers analyzed mortality for nearly 100,000 heart attack patients at 515 hospitals participating in the CathPCI Registry, a database of patient outcomes for those who receive percutaneous coronary interventions and/or diagnostic catheterizations.
They found that door-to-balloon times have decreased from an average of 83 minutes between 2005 and 2006 to an average of 67 minutes between 2008 and 2009. The percentage of patients for whom the door-to-balloon time was 90 minutes or less increased from 59.7 percent in 2005 to 83.1 percent in 2009.
However, death rates from heart attack remained statistically similar, at 4.8 percent between 2005 and 2006 and at 4.7 percent between 2008 and 2009.
The study authors suggest that their findings illuminate the need for further measures to lower heart attack death rates.
More Articles on Quality:
10 Recent Findings on Healthcare Quality's Impact on Cost
Happier Nurses Correlated With Improved Patient Outcomes
Study: 36.5% of ED Residents Don't Report Needlestick Injuries