[Delays in hospital admissions of myocardial infarction]

Abstract

Analysis of the delays in hospital admission to the coronary care unit of 100 patients with recent myocardial infarctions showed an average delay time of 9 hr 50 with early hospital admission within 4 hours in 38% of cases. The number of early hospital admissions increased to: 51% when the infarct was preceded by unstable angina (35 cases, p less than 0.05); 65% when the patient himself diagnosed a coronary thrombosis (34 cases, p less than 0.001); 72% when the intermediary was a specialised emergency medical service called directly by the patient (11 cases, p less than 0.01). These results confirm the necessity of improving public education and of increasing direct access to emergency cardiovascular ambulance services.