For Immediate Release:
IN
CASE OF HEART ATTACK,
SHOULD YOU CALL 911 OR DRIVE TO HOSPITAL?
People who think they are having a heart attack are better off calling 911
and using emergency medical services (EMS) than driving to a hospital,
according to a recent study by researchers from the University of Utah
medical school and five other institutions.
Research findings show that on average, private transportation resulted in
faster arrival (35 minutes) to an emergency department compared with
transport via ambulance (39 minutes), but the latter resulted in faster
medical treatment.
“People experiencing chest pain often do not consider that life-saving
measures can be initiated as soon as EMS arrives. Also, EMS personnel can
warn hospital personnel about a person’s symptoms, shortening the time
needed to diagnose and provide necessary treatment once the patient
arrives at the hospital,” said Clay Mann, Ph.D., M.S., principal
investigator and a researcher at the Intermountain Injury Control Research
Center, a part of the University of Utah School of Medicine’s Department
of Pediatrics. Study results will appear in the January issue of the
American Heart Journal.
Every year, about 1.2 million Americans experience acute myocardial
infarction (AMI) or heart attack, with more than half dying before getting
appropriate medical care. Thrombolytic medications, which break clots that
block arteries during AMI, can reduce deaths significantly if given within
an hour of the onset of symptoms.
Although previous studies have shown that using EMS allows for quick
delivery of thrombolytic therapy, only 50-60 percent of persons suffering
chest pain chose to use EMS because most patients thought driving directly
to the hospital was quicker than calling 911.
Previous studies were largely limited in scope, so Mann’s research team
used data from 20 U.S. communities to demonstrate that the time savings
from utilizing EMS were universal, regardless of any particulars
associated with any city or EMS system.
Data came from 5,581 respondents included in the Rapid Early Action for
Coronary Treatment (REACT) trial, a national project designed to evaluate
the effects of community intervention on the time interval between onset
of AMI symptoms and hospital emergency care.
The study involved review of medical records and a follow-up telephone
survey. Researchers compared elapsed time intervals from the decision to
seek care to actual initial care.
“Chest patients who utilize private transportation to get to the ED
faster may actually be delaying treatment,” the study concluded. It
recommended educating the public about the advantages of EMS care and
transport in case of a heart attack.
Mann did most of his work for this study while he was a faculty member of
the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Oregon Health Sciences
University (OHSU). The other investigators are: Caroline B. Hutchings, M.
Stat., U Intermountain Injury Control Research Center; Mohamud Daya, M.D.,
M.S., OHSU Department of Emergency Medicine; Jon Jui, M.D., M.P.H., OHSU
Department of Emergency Medicine; Robert Goldberg, Ph.D., Department of
Cardiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School; Lawton Cooper,
M.D., M.P.H., National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; David C. Goff
Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Public Health Sciences and Internal Medicine, Wake
Forest University School of Medicine; and Carol Cornell, Ph.D., School of
Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
# # #
Dec. 30, 2003
For more information, contact:
Clay Mann, Intermountain Injury Control Research Center, (801) 585-9161
Lisa Hyde, Intermountain Injury Control Research Center Public Affairs,
(801) 581-5755
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