Does emergency medical service transport reduce ischemic time and treatment delays in patients with ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction?
EMS transportation significantly reduces ischemic time and treatment delays in STEMI patients, highlighting the need for community education to increase its use.
Emergency medical services transportation to the hospital is underused among contemporary ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction patients. Nevertheless, use of EMS transportation is associated with substantial reductions in ischemic time and treatment delays. Community education efforts are needed to improve the use of emergency transport as part of system-wide strategies to improve ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction reperfusion care.
Mathews et al. (Tue,) studied this question.