This scientific statement summarizes evidence on patient delay in seeking treatment for ACS and stroke, highlighting inadequacies in current approaches and offering suggestions for clinical practice.
Current education campaigns fail to reduce delays in ACS and stroke; challenges their effectiveness and extends need for novel interventions.
Patient delay in seeking treatment for acute coronary syndrome and stroke symptoms is the major factor limiting delivery of definitive treatment in these conditions. Despite decades of research and public education campaigns aimed at decreasing patient delay times, most patients still do not seek treatment in a timely manner. In this scientific statement, we summarize the evidence that (1) demonstrates the benefits of early treatment, (2) describes the extent of the problem of patient delay, (3) identifies the factors related to patient delay in seeking timely treatment, and (4) reveals the inadequacies of our current approaches to decreasing patient delay. Finally, we offer suggestions for clinical practice and future research.
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Moser et al. (2006) studied this question.
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