Calling ambulance when experiencing chest pain may deliver better outcomes: research

SYDNEY, April 12 (Xinhua) -- A research published on the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday found that calling an ambulance when experiencing chest pain rather than organizing other transport to a hospital means faster intervention and may deliver better outcomes.

The research was led by professor of cardiology at Concord Repatriation Hospital in Sydney David Brieger and Dr Eleanor Redwood from Prince of Wales Hospital and Community Health Services.

Researchers analyzed data from the patients with confirmed ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) from 43 hospitals during Feb. 23, 2009 to Dec. 31, 2017, and compared their clinical characteristics, time to reperfusion, and hospital outcomes, including death and major adverse cardiovascular events such as cardiac death, heart failure or shock.

The research found that time between arrival at hospital and reperfusion was significantly shorter for patients who arrived by ambulance than for other patients. As prompt reperfusion could reduce morbidity and mortality, it's vital to minimize the time between symptom onset and reperfusion.

"Despite the less favorable risk profiles of patients who arrive by ambulance, their hospital outcomes are comparable with those of patients who present directly to hospital, presumably because of their more rapid access to reperfusion," the research article said.

Researchers said this underscored the value of calling an ambulance when chest pain develops, and suggested that this public health message should be more actively promoted.