STEMI: Hospital destination policies improve time to first medical contact

In the present study, mean door-to-balloon times were “well within guideline-recommended time frames” for both the states with hospital destination policies and the states without them, Dr. Green and colleagues wrote.

“Many mitigating factors affecting STEMI mortality continue to exist when considering both population- and individual-level effects, and most cardiologists still agree that minimizing total ischemic time improves patient outcomes,” they said.

The project was funded by the American Heart Association’s Mission: Lifeline program, which aims to develop coordinated systems of care for time-sensitive, high-risk emergencies including heart attacks, stroke, and cardiac arrest.

One study coauthor reported serving as the Medical Director at ZOLL Medical. The others had no conflicts reported.

SOURCE: Green J et al. Circulation Cardiovasc Interven. 2018 May;11(5):e005706.