Key factors linked to lower death rates among patients with heart attacks

May 1, 2012 in Cardiology

(Medical Xpress) -- Reviewing heart attack cases during monthly meetings with emergency medical services and maintaining a positive working environment are two of the relatively inexpensive strategies that can reduce mortality rates among patients with heart attacks, Yale researchers report in a study published in the May issue of Annals of Internal Medicine.

These strategies could potentially save thousands of lives each year, according to lead author Elizabeth H. Bradley, director of the Yale Global Health Leadership Institute. The study is the culmination of five years of research and results from an extensive web-based survey of more than 500 hospitals. This helped the Yale researchers identify some of the best strategies hospitals use to successfully treat .

They found that several factors were significantly associated with lower heart attack mortality rates, including: monthly meetings between hospital clinicians and to review cases; the constant presence of a cardiologist on site and if not possible, a pharmacist on the daily care team; an encouraging creative problem-solving by clinicians; and physician and nurses working together, rather than nurses alone.

Nonetheless, these strategies, were found to be used by less than 10% of the hospitals across the country that were involved in the survey.

“Although mortality rates as a result of heart attacks continue to decrease, substantial variation in these rates among hospitals across the United States persist, and we know little as to why some hospitals are more successful than others in treating patients with heart attacks,” Bradley said. “Our findings identify common features of hospitals with lower mortality rates and open the door for improvement nationally.”

The latest results support the team’s earlier work, which identified five areas that were prominent in higher-performing hospitals and less apparent in lower-performing hospitals.

Bradley said the findings further confirm that key aspects of the organizational environment of hospitals—including effective communication and collaboration among groups, broad staff presence and expertise, and a culture of problem-solving and learning—were apparent in the qualitative work and were statistically associated with higher in the quantitative work.

“These strategies we discovered to successfully treat patients with heart attacks were not expensive methods, and therefore, many of these tools and processes can be easily put into place by other hospitals to drastically improve the quality of care provided to these patients,” said senior author Dr. Harlan M. Krumholz, the Harold H. Hines, Jr. Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Yale School of Medicine.

The study was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Commonwealth Fund, and the United Fund. The work was also funded in part, by the Yale Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) grant from the National Center for Research Resources at the National Institutes of Health.

Other authors on the study include Leslie Curry, Erica S. Spatz, Jeph Herrin, Emily J. Cherlin, Jeptha Curtis, Jennifer W. Thompson, Henry H. Ting, and Yongfei Wang.

More information: Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 156, No. 9 (May 1, 2012)

Journal reference: Annals of Internal Medicine search and more info website

Provided by Yale University search and more info website

5 /5 (1 vote)  

Rank 5 /5 (1 vote)
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • Learning curve of Electromagnetism?
    created2 hours ago
  • thin glass in liquid
    created3 hours ago
  • How many joules expended for a push up?
    created6 hours ago
  • force to keep the folding doors
    created6 hours ago
  • Confusion regarding direction of kinetic friction on inclined plane.
    created7 hours ago
  • Mage hand
    created13 hours ago
  • More from Physics Forums - Classical Physics

More news stories

Free fatty acids linked to cardiac risk in late adulthood

(HealthDay)—Blood levels of free fatty acids are associated with insulin resistance during young adulthood and cardiovascular risk factors in later adulthood, according to a study published online May 13 ...

Cardiology created May 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Diagnosing heart attacks: There's an app for that

An experimental, inexpensive iPhone application transmitted diagnostic heart images faster and more reliably than emailing photo images, according to a research study presented at the American Heart Association's Quality ...

Cardiology created May 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study suggests new role for ECMO in treating patients with cardiac arrest and profound shock

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), a procedure traditionally used during cardiac surgeries and in the ICU that functions as an artificial replacement for a patient's heart and lungs, has also been used to resuscitate ...

Cardiology created May 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Stroke patients respond similarly to after-stroke care, despite age difference

Age has little to do with how patients should be treated after suffering a stroke, according to new research from the University of Georgia.

Cardiology created May 17, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Depression linked to almost doubled stroke risk in middle-aged women

Depressed middle-aged women have almost double the risk of having a stroke, according to research published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Cardiology created May 16, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


New research identifies risks, interventions for children's GI health

An increasing number of U.S. children are experiencing gastrointestinal issues that require interventions to resolve, according to research presented at Digestive Disease Week (DDW).

US psychiatry gets makeover in new manual

The latest makeover to a massive psychiatric tome honored by some, reviled by others and even called the "Bible" of mental disorders is being released Saturday with a host of new changes.

AIDS science at 30: 'Cure' now part of lexicon

Big names in medicine are set to give an upbeat assessment of the war on AIDS on Tuesday, 30 years after French researchers identified the virus that causes the disease.

For combat veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, 'fear circuitry' in the brain never rests

Chronic trauma can inflict lasting damage to brain regions associated with fear and anxiety. Previous imaging studies of people with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, have shown that these brain regions can over-or ...

New case of SARS-like virus in Saudi: ministry

A new case of the deadly coronavirus has been detected in Saudi Arabia where 15 people have already died after contracting it, the health ministry announced on Saturday on its Internet website.

New colonoscope provides ground-breaking view of colon

A ground-breaking advance in colonoscopy technology signals the future of colorectal care, according to research presented today at Digestive Disease Week(DDW). Additional research focuses on optimizing the minimal withdrawal ...