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A simple test carried out by ambulance crews on suspected heart attack patients can help save lives, according to a new study involving researchers from the College of Medicine at Swansea University.
The study, which was funded by the British Heart Foundation, and published in the latest issue of the journal Heart, has identified a positive link between the survival of heart attack patients and the use of an electrocardiogram (ECG) by ambulance crews.
The team of researchers included Professor Helen Snooks and Professor Clive Weston from the College of Medicine at Swansea, along with colleagues from other universities.
They analysed data from almost half a million adults admitted with a heart attack to 228 hospitals in England and Wales, and examined:
• whether patients who came to hospital by ambulance had an ECG test or not,
• differences between those who did and did not receive the test,
• how patients in each group fared in and beyond their hospital stay.
The results showed that the number of patients who died within 30 days of being admitted to hospital was significantly lower when an ECG test had been carried out by ambulance crews.
The study also revealed a third of patients admitted to hospital with a heart attack were not having the test in the ambulance, with certain groups of patients including women, the elderly and people from black and minority ethnic groups, less likely to have an ECG.
Professor Helen Snooks from the College of Medicine said:
“This important study, with key clinical and methodological contributions from Swansea, has highlighted the need to improve the rate of 12 lead ECG administration by ambulance services across the UK.
We intend to follow up this work with further research to test a quality improvement feedback loop for 999 patients with heart attack”
Professor Clive Weston, also from the College of Medicine, added:
"We should not be surprised that the quality of care provided outside hospital leads to better care overall.
However, it is still reassuring that the small amount of extra time taken to perform an ECG before arriving at hospital is associated with better outcomes for patients."
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Swansea University College of Medicine
- Thursday 10 July 2014 18.18 BST
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