Hospitals gain speed in heart attack care

According to a new study published in the journal Circulation, more heart attack patients are now getting care within the recommended time frame than were five years ago.

The Associated Press: Hospitals Are Giving Faster Heart Care, Study Says
In a spectacular turnabout, hospitals are treating almost all major heart attack patients within the recommended 90 minutes of arrival, a new study finds. ... "Americans who have heart attacks can now be confident that they're going to be treated rapidly in virtually every hospital of the country," said Yale cardiologist Dr. Harlan Krumholz. He led the study, published online Monday by an American Heart Association journal, Circulation. What is remarkable about this improvement, Krumholz said, is that it occurred without money incentives or threat of punishment (Marchione, 8/22).

The Wall Street Journal: More Heart Attack Patients Are Getting Treated Quickly
More heart-attack patients now than five years ago are getting a potentially life-saving procedure to open blocked arteries within the recommended time frame, a new study shows. The so-called "door-to-balloon" time refers to how long it takes for heart attack patients who need an angioplasty - an opening of the blocked artery using a catheter - to receive one once they've gotten to the hospital. The recommendation is to get the procedure within 90 minutes (Hobson, 8/22).