Patients with cardiac chest pain should call emergency services
BY: Will T Roberts, research fellow, Adam D Timmis, professor of clinical cardiology BMJ 2007;335:669 (29 September).
In acute myocardial infarction, the risk of ventricular fibrillation is highest in the first 12 hours after onset of symptoms.
Key points
In acute myocardial infarction the most important means of saving life is to get the patient to a defibrillator and to start reperfusion therapy as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms
- The time it takes patients with chest pain to seek help accounts for up to 75% of the total delay before treatment
- Ambulance transport is the most effective means of accessing medical help, yet up to half of all patients with myocardial infarction do not use the emergency services
- Healthcare professionals who deal with at-risk groups should educate them about how to recognise symptoms and the need to act quickly in the event of cardiac chest pain by calling for help from emergency services, rather than consulting general practitioners or medical helplines
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