The Latest Biology News And Medical NewsBiology News 2Health News 2Biology News 3Health News 3
HOME >> MEDICINE >> NEWS
Delays in heart attack care erode the difference between two emergency therapies

ANN ARBOR, MI In a perfect world, heart attack patients would get to the hospital within minutes after their symptoms start.

And most would immediately get sent for an emergency angioplasty, which uses a tiny balloon to clear blood clots that are clogging arteries. Study after study has shown that quick access to this life-saving treatment, also called percutaneous coronary intervention, surpasses fibrinolytic (clot-busting) drugs in emergency heart attack care.

But in the real world, the difference between the two therapies may not be so simple.

According to a new analysis by researchers from the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center, angioplasty only beats clot-busters if there's less than a one-hour difference between the time it takes to get patients from the emergency room door to the angioplasty suite, and the time it takes to start clot-busting drugs.

And in the real world, that swift access to angioplasty doesn't happen nearly as often as it should, says Eric R. Bates, M.D., professor of cardiovascular medicine at the U-M and senior author of the new study published in the October American Journal of Cardiology. Most hospitals still don't have the staff and equipment needed to do angioplasty, and it can take over an hour to transfer a patient to a hospital that does.

The result? "A delay to get an angioplasty means it may not get you all the benefits you read about," says Bates. "If you can't get angioplasty right away, get medical therapy with clot-busting drugs, and then transfer for angioplasty afterward."

Of course, he says, patients can also boost their chances of survival by getting to a hospital promptly after symptoms begin. The biggest delay is often the delay in getting any sort of medical attention, either because patients don't seek help or they don't call for emergency transportation. Half of heart attack patients get to the hospital by car, rather than by ambulance.

Bates, who p
'"/>

Contact: Kara Gavin
kegavin@umich.edu
734-764-2220
University of Michigan Health System
30-Sep-2003


Page: 1 2 3 4

Related medicine news :

1. Delays in test result reviewing common
2. Wake Up To Stroke -- Night Strokes Linked To Long Delays In Care
3. New study in Nature demonstrates protection against cell death during heart attack
4. Uric acid and heart disease
5. Researchers search for first sign of congestive heart failure
6. Hopkins begins human trials with donor adult stem cells to repair muscle damaged from heart attack
7. Extreme exertion, emotion can spark repeat heart attacks
8. Men with severe sleep breathing disorder have higher risk of heart problems
9. Red wine protects the heart
10. Yale authors raise concerns regarding regionalized heart attack care
11. Community-based care beats standard clinic in lowering heart

Post Your Comments:
(Date:11/23/2009)..., ClinicsContinuetoTargetIndividualsintheRecommend...ewswire-USNewswire/--TheDepartmentofHealthannounce...nclinicsatlocalStateHealthCentersinDelaware,Lancas...,Nov.25.TheH1N1vaccinewillbeadministeredforfreetoi...adpreviousaccesstothevaccine.Thedepartmentasksthat...
(Date:11/23/2009)... everybody, health care professionals enjoy a pay ...financial incentives for health care performance m...s that patient-care performance ratings for 25 med...ly following the launch of a statewide pay-for-per...focused on doctors, productivity. , Reporting...
(Date:11/23/2009)...rnadine Healy, first woman to head the agency, sai.... 23 (HealthDay News) -- The fallout from last wee...the start of routine mammogram testing for breast ...ational Institutes of Health advising women to ign...ly ignore them, because unequivocally this will in...
(Date:11/23/2009)..., SayscuttingMedicaretofinance"reform"isamoralou...ire/--WhiletheSenateDemocratsmovedforwardtobeginth...tireSafe,a400,000supporterstronggrassrootsseniorad...theirbullhornstoprotestthemassivecutstoMedicare.Re...hingthefocusshifttoissuesliketaxes,abortion,andimm...
(Date:11/23/2009)..., SOUTHAMPTON,N.Y.,Nov.23/PRNewswire-USNewswire/--...aulsonhavedonated$5milliontofundanewEmergencyDepar...willenabletheHospitaltoalmostdoubletheexistingspac...entsandvisitorsoftheSouthForkofLongIsland. ,, S...lsonEmergencyDepartment willprovideacentralizedtra...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Pennsylvania Department of Health Announces Additional H1N1 Vaccination Clinics in Delaware, Lancaster, Lehigh Counties 2Health News:Medical 'pay for performance' programs help improve care -- but not always, study finds 2Health News:Medical 'pay for performance' programs help improve care -- but not always, study finds 3Health News:Women Should Ignore New Mammogram Guideline, Ex-NIH Chief Says 2Health News:Women Should Ignore New Mammogram Guideline, Ex-NIH Chief Says 3Health News:RetireSafe Calls on Seniors to Grab their Bullhorns to Save Medicare from Rationed Care 2Health News:Southampton Hospital Receives $5 Million Gift for New Emergency Department 2
(Date:11/23/2009).../-- CryoLife,Inc. (NYSE: CRY ),animplantablebiolog...company,announcedtodaythatitisscheduledtoparticipa...ferenceatTheNewYorkPalaceHotelonDecember1,2009. ,...icerofCryoLife,Inc.,willprovideacorporateoverviewr...ionandanswersessionat4:30p.m.EasternTime. ,, Cr...
(Date:11/23/2009)...irstCall/-- CumberlandPharmaceuticalsInc. (CPIX) ...dyevaluatingthesafetyandefficacyofCaldolor( ibupro...ients. ,, Statisticalsignificancewasachievedfor...rthefirst24hoursoftreatment.Thestudyevaluated61adu...morethan10percenttotalbodysurfacearea.Otherpartici...
(Date:11/23/2009).../--Sarnova,Inc.,thenation,sleadingspecialtydistrib...ces(EMS)andrespiratorymarkets,announcedtodaythatit...m.ThenewexecutivesincludeTomDavid,executivevicepre...eneralcounsel;SteveLacke,executivevicepresidentofm...fcorporatedevelopment. ,, "Ihaveworkedwithallof...
Breaking Medicine Technology:CryoLife to Present at 21st Annual Piper Jaffray Health Care Conference 2Caldolor(R) (Ibuprofen) Injection Demonstrates Significant Fever Reduction in Hospitalized Burn Patients 2Caldolor(R) (Ibuprofen) Injection Demonstrates Significant Fever Reduction in Hospitalized Burn Patients 3Sarnova Expands Senior Management Team 2Replication at DNA damage sites highlights Fanconi anemia and breast cancer proteins 56805 1Replication at DNA damage sites highlights Fanconi anemia and breast cancer proteins 56805 2TCT 2009 to address electronic health records 56800 1TCT 2009 to address electronic health records 56800 2Stevens to host 2009 N J Inventors Hall of Fame Dinner 9871 1Stevens to host 2009 N J Inventors Hall of Fame Dinner 9871 2
Other News:
...lescent females who feel they can talk to their fa...to have steady partners who use condoms than are g...w study.......A supportive family may provide an e...ngaging in HIV/STD risk behaviors, such as not usi...
...se note that if you are outside North America the ...rs UK Time Friday 1st February 2002.......A UK stu...w a new model of postnatal care led by midwives an...he risk of mental illness among women in the first...
... Calif. - "Serendipity" rather than science plays ...ate cancer, according to Stanford University Medic...state specific antigen (PSA), a marker traditional...cer risk, is clinically unreliable.... ..."F...
...ave added to the evidence that patients with Alzhe...eir memory is failing but because they are subject...toms doctors call motion blindness. Some of the ne...of patients, where researchers have linked the con...
health news:Supportive homes mean less risky sex among black adolescent females 2health news:Re-designed care could reduce postnatal depression 2health news:Stanford researchers challenge value of widely used prostate cancer diagnostic methods 2health news:Road skills hint at 'motion blindness' of Alzheimer's 2health news:Road skills hint at 'motion blindness' of Alzheimer's 3health news:Road skills hint at 'motion blindness' of Alzheimer's 4
...rt function may predispose a person to ischemic st...he American Heart Association.......Having any deg...ricular dysfunction (LVD), was almost five times m...trols.......Although previous studies have linked ...
...itis be given antibiotics before transfer to hospi...s in primary care to do this, but the evidence is ...and others suggesting harm. Two papers in this wee...at children who are given antibiotics before admis...
...tilation (FGM) have a higher risk of losing their ..., according to a paper in this week's issue of The...h FGM had more birth-related problems.......FGM co...otal removal of the external female genitalia or o...
...ing and many age-related diseases is oxidative str... PhD, HMS associate professor of pathology. The sk...osure to air, and in some ways that is a good meta...ng to neurons and other types of cells over time.....
health news:Mild to severe heart muscle impairment linked to higher stroke risk 2health news:Mild to severe heart muscle impairment linked to higher stroke risk 3health news:Are antibiotics for suspected childhood meningitis harmful? 2health news:Female genital mutilation harmful for mothers and babies 2health news:Free radical cell death switch identified 2