A new study found that heart attack patients rushed to the hospitals on evenings, weekends and holidays increase their risk of dying by 13 percent compared to other times and days of the week.
Researchers from the Cardiovascular Institute at North Shore University Health System in Evanston, Ill., looked at the data of 27,270 patients who went to the hospitals during off-hours and compared the data with 15,972 patients who came in during regular hours. The data was collected between 2007 and 2010 from 447 different hospitals.
After careful analysis, researchers noticed that the door-to-balloon time, or the amount of time between a heart attack and a patient's hospital arrival to the time he/she receives angioplasty, is longer by 16 minutes during off-hours compared to regular hours. The American Heart Association guidelines standard is 90 minutes or less, but 21 percent who arrived during off-hours did not meet the time frame, compared to only 12 percent during regular hours.
The researchers did not see any difference in aspirin administration, door-to-electrocardiogram (ECG) time, and door-to-needle time.
"The fact that treatments were similar in both groups and that only door-to-balloon time lagged slightly is a credit to continually raising awareness and educating providers about the Mission: Lifeline guidelines," said lead author Dr. Jorge Saucedo, chief of cardiology and co-director of the Cardiovascular Institute at North Shore University Health System in Evanston, Ill. "Over the past decade, these cardiac emergency protocols carried out by multiple institutions across the country have made a huge impact in saving lives. Yes, there is opportunity for improvement, but this really is a huge success."
He added that staff could be causing some of the delays.
"When a heart attack patient comes to the emergency department at 1 a.m., the emergency staff activate the pagers. Doctors need to drive to the hospital, get things set up in the cath lab, and it takes time," Dr. Saucedo stated.
The study was published in the July 29 issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
