EMS strategy change gets heart patients faster care

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – People with a certain type of heart attack get better care when paramedics take them directly to a medical center that can perform stent procedures – even if it’s not the closest hospital, according to new research from North Carolina. In a so-called ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, or STEMI, blood is blocked for an extended period of time and a patient needs artery-opening surgery as quickly as possible – ideally within two hours or less. …