OCR Text |
Show Magna Times and West Valley News, Sept. 21, 2000 Quality Health Quality Caring Quality You Medical studies indicates U of U researchers seek families heartattack victims delay that have brain aneurysm history of calling 911 for assistance BvGRESGQHY WOODS whom die. Study participants will have a sample, of blood taken for genetic testing and complete a questionnaire. Many participants also may receive a free magnetic resonance angiography scan. percent RMMich Coordinator People recognize the benefit of calling an ambulance if they witness someone else having possible heart attack symptoms, but individuals personally experiencing the same symptoms often choose not to use emergency medical serviced, according to a study in todays Circulation: Journal of the American heart Association. Bystanders may call EMS because they are unacquainted with the victim and his or her circumstances, said Clay Mann, Ph.D. an associate pro- fessor at the University of Utah School of Medicine in Salt Lake City. Alternatively, people actually having chest pain or the symptoms of a heart attack may not consider their symptoms to be serious enough to use EMS. Of the 1,100,000 people who experience a heart attack in the US each year, more than half die before reaching a medical facility. A majority of these deaths occur within one hour of the onset of acute symptoms such as chest pain, discomfort in the left arm, jaw or neck sweating, nausea or weakness. . Therefore, early treatment is critical says Mann. Clot busting drugs and other therapy can reduce the chance of death from a heart attack by 25 percent if given within that critical first . hour. Mann and his colleagues used information from the Rapid Early Action for Coronary Treatment study. In the REACT study. 20 communities across the U.S. were permitted by common demographics such as average age, average income, etc. Ten of these communities-on- e of each-pai- r were randomly assigned to receive community education programs about heart attack symptoms and the importance of fast, early treatment of heart attack. Researchers randomly tele- phoned 962 people in REACT communities be for the commu- These individuals were asked how they arrived at the hospital and what factors caused them to go quickly or wait to go to the communities. hospital. On average, 89 percent of the respondents from each group said they would call 91 1 if they witnessed a person having a heart attack. About eight percent said they would consider driving someone with possible heart attack symptoms to the hospital. However, contrary to the bystander intentions in the telephone poll, few actual chest pain sufferers used EMS and 23 percent About 60 percent were driven to the emergency room by someone else, while 16 percent drove themselves to the hospital. Mann said that some people delayed calling EMS or going to the hospital because they took aspirin or an antacid to relieve heartburn symptoms which are often mistaken for a heart attack. Others, put off calling EMS after speaking to heir doctor. It is problematic that communication with a doctor decreased EMS use, Mann said. It is possible that speaking with a doctor reduced patient anxiety a way that made EMS transport seem optional. Our data, he said, indicates that 83 percent of patients who spoke with a physician and were later admitted to the hospital for a heart attack did not use emergency transportation. According to Mann most people likely to call EMS were older, lived alone, had a history of heart disease or lived in a community with a ambulance serve prepayment plan. The study reports, that the prepresence of a paid EMS system doubled the likelihood of using EMS compared with communities with no such system. funded by a four-yea- r, $1 million grant from the National Institutes of Health. With additional funding from the Willard Eccles Institute. According to Greggory Wood, research coordinator, identification of the gene could Researchers help iead to early detection and treatment of aneurysms. Ultimately, the research could resulting genetic therapies for individuals who are at high risk for the problem. Each year more than 30,000 people in the' U.S. suffer an aneurysm approximately 60 from the med- ical schools departments of radiology, neurosurgery, and of Genetic Division collaboratare Epidemiology ing or. rhe study. For more information, contact Greggory Wood at or, greggepisun5.med.utah.edu Creating Beautiful Smiles fats'' - 9. Travis Q. Talbot DDS MS Spedalist in orthodontics for adults and children Esthetic braces available Early preventive treatment Modern office and treatment techniques Light forces for less discomfort Insurance accepted tax-bas- ed tax-bas- nity intervention programs began and asked, If you thought someone was having an heart attack, what would you do? Though certain variables Two optional responses were. nuy bias this finding. Mam (I) cal! 91 1 or and ambulance, said other studies have comor (2) drive the person to a hos-- . mented a similar pattern. He said programs that offset the pital. They also collected inforcost of EMS transportation mation of 875 chest pain arrivals to emergency rooms in REACT should be studied further. . Families who have had three or more relatives diagnosed with brain aneurysm are being sought for a study to identify the gene responsible for causing the problem. The University of Utah School of Medicine study, is QnBQDMaMD 6243 S. Redwood Road Suite 240 943-01- 83 POOR ( |