ECGs administered by paramedics can speed treatment for severe heart attacks
Philadelphia, PA, July 20, 2012 – A new program that trains emergency medical service technicians (EMS) to read electrocardiograms so that they can evaluate patients with chest pain, and expedite treatment for the severe heart condition known as ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a serious form of heart attack, has excellent results and should become the standard of care, according to two studies published in the current issue of the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.
"It's well established that morbidity and mortality in myocardial infarctions is directly ...