PUBLIC AWARENESS
EVERY MINUTE COUNTS – PATIENTS MUST BE AWARE!
Patients suffering from a myocardial infarction (MI) are often not willing to recognize what’s going on. That, indeed, is a problem. If the MI occurs at night, for example, patients frequently wait until the morning before they call 911. Patients rather hope the pain might go away and hesitate to bother a physician.
Yet, in terms of prognosis, it is essential to start the therapy in a timely manner. The pre-hospital period – i.e. the time between the pain starting and the patient’s arrival at the hospital – should be less than 60 minutes. This time is also referred to as the “golden first hour“ since removal of the blockage in the vessel and restoring perfusion can save a considerable portion of the heart muscle during that time.
THE FASTER, THE BETTER!
Data provided by Stiftung IHF document that pre-hospital times in Germany have increased over the past decade. The share of patients being hospitalized during the golden first hour stagnates.
Having analyzed the data from 35,000 ST-elevation myocardial infarctions in the MITRAplus registry it was found that mostly older patients, women, diabetics, and patients suffering from infarction during the night are affected. During the day, the average pre-hospital time is 150 minutes. During the night, it is 225 minutes.
TARGETED EDUCATION HAS PROVEN EFFECTIVE
Based on this knowledge, the IHF has been supporting for years awareness campaigns among the general public in the Ludwigshafen area. Heart center physicians are actively educating people in adult education centers, clubs, companies, and cooperate with the local media. The success of these intensive efforts shows in that the pre-hospital time was cut back to 150 minutes – and this being an average value for the Ludwigshafen area including day AND night versus 180 minutes nationwide.
Improving these figures nationwide is one of our goals. Educating the public about the importance of this “golden first hour“ is a key emphasis in our collaboration with the Deutsche Herzstiftung (German Heart Foundation).
