Treating heart attack past recommended time may significantly increase risk of death
Tuesday, June 1, 2010 - 16:25
in Health & Medicine
An examination of the treatment received by patients with myocardial infarction (heart attack) at 80 hospitals in Quebec indicates that those who received either primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PPCI; such as angioplasty) or fibrinolysis (administration of medication to dissolve blood clots) beyond the times recommended in international guidelines had a significantly increased risk of death within 30 days, along with an increased risk of the combined outcome of death or readmission for heart attack or heart failure at one year, according to a study in the June 2 issue of JAMA.