Prevalence of aspirin use among patients calling 9-1-1 for chest pain

Objective: Early aspirin administration during an acute myocardial infarcti on (AMI) decreases morbidity and mortality. This investigation examined the extent to which patients with a complaint of chest pain, the symptom most identified with AMI by the general population, self-administer aspirin befo re the arrival of emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. Methods: In t his prospective, cross-sectional prevalence study, data were derived throug h the analysis of EMS incident reports for patients with a complaint of che st pain from June 1, 1997, to August 31, 1997. Results: The study included 694 subjects. One hundred two (15%) took aspirin for their chest pain befor e the arrival of EMS personnel. Of the 322 subjects who reported taking asp irin on a regular basis, 82 (26%) took additional aspirin for their acute c hest pain. Only 20 (5%) of the 370 patients who were not using regular aspi rin therapy self-administered aspirin acutely (p < 0.001). In addition, pat ients with lower intensity of chest pain (p = 0.03) were more likely to tak e aspirin for their chest pain. Conclusion: Only a relatively small fractio n of individuals calling 9-1-1 with acute chest pain take aspirin prior to the arrival of EMS personnel. These individuals are more likely to self-adm inister aspirin if they are already taking it on a regular basis. It is als o possible that they are less likely to take aspirin if their chest pain is more severe.