Coordinating protocol for emergency responses allows clinicians to treat heart attack patients faster, according to a new study published in the journal Circulation.
When patients have a heart attack caused by a complete blockage in the artery — known as STEMIs — the American Heart Association recommends they undergo a percutaneous coronary intervention procedure to clear the artery within 90 minutes of arrival at the hospital. If the patient is at a hospital that cannot perform the procedure, clinicians have 120 minutes to transfer the patient to a hospital that can.
Despite the guidelines, less than half of all STEMI patients are treated with a PCI in the recommended timeframe.
In an attempt to improve upon these disappointing patient care outcomes, researchers worked with key stake holders at 484 hospitals and 1,253 emergency medical services agencies in 16 regions across the country to develop consistent plans for how to provide earlier treatment for patients. Methods included having EMT's diagnose the heart attack in the field or taking patients directly to operating room instead of stopping at the ER first.
Between 2012 and 2013, 23,809 patients had heart attacks and were treated at hospitals that performed PCI procedures.
When these patients came directly to the hospitals, the percentage of cases meeting AHA treatment guidelines increased from 50 percent to 55 percent. When patients were transferred to a hospital that could perform a PCI, the percentage of patients who met the guidelines increased from 44 percent to 48 percent.
"In the long run, [this program] should be everywhere in the U.S.," said James Jollis, MD, lead author of the study, in a Reuters report. "Every single patient should be treated according to these protocols."
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