Treatment-seeking behavior among those with signs and symptoms of acute myocardial infarction
Insights
Delays in seeking treatment for acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) symptoms are common, often exceeding 4 hours. Factors like pre-existing conditions and seeking advice increase delays, while recognizing cardiac pain reduces them.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Delays in treatment for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) significantly increase patient morbidity and mortality.
- Average delay times for seeking definitive care for AMI symptoms often exceed four hours in many studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify patient- and symptom-related factors associated with delays in seeking treatment for acute myocardial infarction.
- To inform the development of interventions aimed at reducing patient delay in AMI treatment.
Main Methods:
- Review of studies examining patient delay in seeking treatment for acute myocardial infarction symptoms.
- Analysis of variables associated with both increased and decreased delay times.
Main Results:
- Increased delay is linked to a history of angina, diabetes, hypertension, older age, Black race, consulting family/physicians, weekday symptom onset, and self-treatment.
- Reduced delay is associated with recognizing pain as cardiac, hemodynamic instability, severe chest pain, younger age, and consulting coworkers.
- Patients with prior myocardial infarction experience show similar delay patterns to those without.
Conclusions:
- Understanding factors influencing patient delay is crucial for developing targeted interventions.
- Community education programs and patient/family support are needed to reduce delays in seeking AMI treatment.
- Even patients with previous heart attacks are not consistently prompt in seeking care.
Abstract:
Significant delays in seeking definitive treatment for the signs and symptoms of acute myocardial infarction increase morbidity and mortality. In most studies, delay times average more than 4 hours. The following variables are associated with increased delay: a medical history of angina, diabetes mellitus, or hypertension; older age; black race; seeking advice from a family member or a physician; symptom onset on a weekday; and attempts at self-treatment. Variables associated with reduced delay times are the following: pain recognized as cardiac in origin, hemodynamic instability, severe chest pain, younger age, and consultation with a coworker. Surprisingly, patients who have already experienced a myocardial infarction are just as likely to delay as patients who have not had this experience. These findings provide direction for developing and testing patient and family interventions, establishing community education programs, and reducing patient delay in response to the signs and symptoms of acute myocardial infarction.
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