Education to increase women's knowledge of female myocardial infarction symptoms.

Objective: To test the use of acronyms to increase women's knowledge of female prodromal and myocardial infarction (MI) symptoms using acronyms, and the appropriate response to these symptoms.

Design: A quasi-experimental design.

Method: An educational program, emphasizing two acronyms, was presented and knowledge of female heart attack, prodromal symptoms, and appropriate response was tested before and after the presentation.

Participants: The sample consisted of 51 women.

Results: Knowledge scores increased from 81% pre-test to 91% post-test. This difference was statistically significant on a paired sample t-test, with each subject serving as her own control. Scores measuring knowledge of content specific to the acronyms also improved and were statistically significant.

Conclusion: Lack of knowledge of female heart attack symptoms may contribute to the delay of women seeking care and appropriate treatment, thus increasing morbidity and mortality. The findings from this study demonstrated that an educational program that focused on the use of acronyms was effective in increasing women's knowledge of female prodromal and MI symptoms.