Internal medicine journal
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Internal medicine journal · Nov 2005
Why do acute myocardial infarction patients not call an ambulance? An interview with patients presenting to hospital with acute myocardial infarction symptoms.
Studies from overseas indicate that patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) symptoms often fail to use the emergency services as recommended, thereby depriving themselves from life-saving treatment in case of cardiac arrest and delaying the time to myocardial reperfusion in the presence of a coronary occlusion. ⋯ A large proportion of patients with AMI symptoms refrain from calling the emergency services because they do not consider themselves critically ill. Education programmes appear to be warranted because more appropriate use of emergency services will save lives.