Heart Attacks on the Weekend are Bad News
March 17, 2007 by Lei
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
Welcome to Saturday! Seems like it would be an appropriate time to let you know that if you can control yourself, don’t have a heart attack this weekend. Come to think of it, if you can control yourself that well, don’t have a heart attack at all. 
A study of New Jersey hospitals between 1987 and 2002 has found that heart-attack patients on the weekends were more likely to die one day after admission. The effect continued at one month, six months, and a year later. One reason given for their higher mortality rate is that doctors are less likely to use angioplasty and other invasive procedures to treat patients on the weekends. But it’s been five years since the end of that study and cardiologists have changed their practice since then. They now clear clogged arteries as soon as possible when a person presents with heart attack.
Still, there may be other factors aside from the type and frequency of medical procedures. Maybe patients resist going to the hospital because they’d rather continue enjoying their leisure activity of choice. By the time they end up at the hospital, the time lapse between heart attack and medical care is longer than it would be on the weekday. Also, there may be fewer hospital staff on duty during weekends and they may be more hesitant to call cardiologists because it’s a holiday.
What is most important to remember if you think you’re having a heart attack regardless of when it might strike – CALL FOR AN AMBULANCE.
The Philadelphia Inquirer, NY Times, March 16, 2007
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ETonline.com, March 15, 2007
