http://www.emsresponder.com/article/article.jsp?id=8989&siteSection=1
Survey Uncovers Deficiencies in Heart Attack Care
American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline initiative to use survey data
Survey Uncovers Deficiencies in Heart Attack Care
American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline initiative to use survey data
DALLAS, Feb. 16 -- Preliminary results of one of the nation's largest national surveys of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems indicate the need for improvements in the way heart attack, specifically ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), is managed.
The most significant findings:
-- Only half of EMS systems have 12-lead electrocardiograms (ECGs), used to detect STEMI, on 75 percent or more of their vehicles.
-- Of EMS systems with 12-lead ECGs:
-- Most lacked a standard method for EMS to communicate the 12-Lead ECG results to the hospital.
Currently, paramedics use one or more of the following methods:
-- verbally reporting the ECG algorithm (an automatic, software-generated analysis of the ECG reading),
-- verbally reporting their own interpretation of the ECG reading, or
-- using an advanced technology like Blue Tooth or mobile phone to transmit the ECG algorithm or reading.