Factors Associated With Prehospital Delay And Overview Of Community Trials To Reduce The Duration Of Prehospital Delay In Patients With Symptoms Of Acute Coronary Disease

Abstract

Death rates from coronary heart disease (CHD) in the United States increased dramatically at the beginning of the 20th century, reaching epidemic proportions by the mid-1960s [1–4]. Since the peak in CHD death rates in 1968, during which approximately 675,000 persons died from CHD and nearly 370,000 from acute myocardial infarction (AMI), age-adjusted mortality rates attributed to CHD have leveled off and have exhibited a consistent downward trend, declining by approximately 2-3% annually. Despite these encouraging declines in CHD mortality rates over the past 25 years, CHD remains the major cause of death and disability in the United States and other industrialized countries; approximately 1.25 million persons experience an AMI in the United States each year, and almost 500,000 CHD deaths occur annually, with nearly half of these deaths attributed to AMI alone [5]. CHD is a major health concern for both men and women.