FACTORS DELAYING TREATMENT OF ACUTE MYOCARDIAL-INFARCTION

The study was set up to investigate factors delaying treatment of acut e myocardial infarction. Nine hundred and sixty-seven Austrian physici ans submitted data on their most recent case of myocardial infarction in a cross-sectional study. Mean time for seeking medical care was 111 min from onset; mean admission time to the hospital was 136 min. The degree of anxiety and fear perceived by the patient was positively ass ociated with an earlier decision. Adjusted means of decision time acco rding to degree of fear ranged from 29 to 133 min, adjusted means of a dmission time from 77 to 153 min. Decision time and admission time wer e negatively associated with the presence of typical symptoms and a hi story of myocardial infarction. Adjusted means of decision time accord ing to symptom-history category ranged from 75 to 134 min, adjusted me ans of admission time from 110 to 151 min. Admission time was also hig her in men when patients lived alone, and if the journey to the hospit al was a 40 min or more car drive (i.e. 90th percentile). We conclude that measures that increase awareness in patients at risk are vital to reduce delays in seeking medical care and hospital admission, and thu s to improve the prognosis of acute myocardial infarction.