Cincinnati hospital uses field ECG to speed angioplasty.

Abstract

To shorten the time it takes to provide heart attack patients with angioplasty to reopen blocked arteries, The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, OH, tried just about everything. But the various steps taken only shortened the delay between patient arrival and angioplasty by a few minutes. Then the hospital decided to take the ultimate step: equipping and training emergency medical technicians in the field to conduct electrocardiograms and transmit the findings to an emergency physician on duty.