Fewer than half of people having heart attack call emergency services within an hour, new data shows
A national audit of heart attack incidents has found only 49% of sufferers call emergency services within an hour of symptoms beginning.
Patients who call 999 or 112 are more likely to receive a quick diagnosis, treatment, and are more likely to survive, the Irish Heart Attack Audit National Report has found.
The audit also identifies delays in moving patients from regular healthcare facilities to specialist cardiac hospitals, known as PCI centres.
It measured the time a patient suffering from a heart attack spends at the first hospital, from arrival to departure to a PCI centre.
Last year, only 4% of patients were transferred within the 30-minute target.
In addition, just 55% of patients were brought directly by ambulance to one of the 10 specialist centres in 2022 and 2023. This is down on 58% during 2021.
Travelling by ambulance meant people were more likely to have a test — an ECG — done on their heart by paramedics before reaching a centre.
“Patients who arrive directly at a PCI centre, usually by ambulance and after having the diagnosis confirmed by a pre-hospital ECG with the ambulance service, receive timely treatment in 79% of cases, compared to 45% of those who are transferred from another hospital,” it said.
The audit said 3,102 people were treated in the specialist centres in 2022 and 2023 after having a major heart attack. Symptoms include new shortness of breath, sweatiness, unusual stomach pain and confusion.
Some 77% were men with a median age of 62, and 33% were women with a median age of 69.
The audit shows 35% of patients were smokers — this is almost double the rate of smoking nationally (18%).
People who smoke have heart attacks on average 10 years younger than those who have never smoked.
Some 42% of heart attack patients had a previous history of high cholesterol and 46% had a previous history of high blood pressure. Some 21% of heart attack patients had a diagnosis of diabetes, up from 18% in 2021.
Dr Ronan Margey, clinical lead on the audit and a cardiologist with the Mater Private Network Cork, said: “While we celebrate the improvements seen in this report, there is still work to be done to ensure timely intervention for all patients.
“We are committed to continuing our efforts to improve outcomes for patients with a heart attack across the country.”
The audit also found the proportion of patients referred for cardiac rehabilitation phase 3 rose to 91% in 2023, up from 57% in 2022.
