Volume 13, Issue 2 , Pages 188-195, March 1995
9-1-1: Rapid identification and treatment of acute myocardial infarction☆
Abstract
The sooner a person who is experiencing symptoms and signs of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (including out-of-hospital cardiac arrest) receives medical treatment, the greater his or her chances of survival and limitation of infarct size. A universal 9-1-1 emergency telephone system makes it possible for AMI patients or those around them to easily and quickly call for help and for emergency medical services (EMS) personnel to rapidly and accurately locate the patient. This article by the Access to Care Subcommittee of the National Heart Attack Alert Program (NHAAP) Coordinating Committee describes the history of 9-1-1, its key elements, its current implementation status, and existing State legislation and standards. Currently, approximately 78% of the United States population, mainly in urban areas, has access to a 9-1-1 system. Approximately 195 United States cities with a population of greater than 100,000 people have access to enhanced 9-1-1. It is the contention of the NHAAP that 9-1-1 services should be universally available to all Americans to ensure seamless access to EMS and, potentially, early detection, evaluation, and treatment for AMI. This article reports several key recommendations for achieving this goal.
Keywords: Myocardial infarction, emergency medical services, EMS communication systems, 9-1-1
No full text is available. To read the body of this article, please view the PDF online.
To access this article, please choose from the options below
☆ Writing Group Members of the Access to Care Subcommittee: James Atkins, MD, Medical Director, Dallas Emergency Medical Services, Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, TX; Charles Glass, Highway Safety Program Management Specialist, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.; Bruce MacLeod, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Mercy Hospital, Department of Emergency Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA; Wallace Madewell, Executive Director, Memphis/Shelby County 9-1-1 Department, Memphis, TN; Bruce Shade, Commissioner, Cleveland Emergency Medical Service, Cleveland, OH; John C. Bradley, MS, National Heart Attack Alert Program Support Contract Manager, NHLBI Education Programs Support Contract, R.O.W. Sciences, Inc., Rockville, MD; Mary McDonald Hand, MSPH, RN, Coordinator, National Heart Attack Alert Program, Office of Prevention, Education, and Control, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; Michael Horan, MD, ScM, Director, Division of Heart and Vascular Diseases, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD.
PII: 0735-6757(95)90092-6
© 1995 Published by Elsevier Inc.
Volume 13, Issue 2 , Pages 188-195, March 1995
