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Guidelines for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) specify times from presentation to intervention since times from symptom onset to presentation vary widely. In a randomized, controlled trial of 1944 stable patients admitted with ACS in Ireland, researchers evaluated whether an education intervention could reduce prehospital delay when symptoms recurred. The 40-minute intervention focused on behavioral response to symptoms (e.g., nominating a person to notify, using an ambulance, and not consulting a general practitioner). A phone call at 1 month reinforced the message.
At baseline, median prehospital delay time was about 4 hours in both groups. Among 314 patients who were readmitted with ACS symptoms during up to 2 years of follow-up, median pre…