We aimed to save lives by assuring best practice in ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) through initiating the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) methodology nationally. Following collection of a minimum dataset, annual change in indicators in the five initiating hospitals for the period Oct 2006 - Sept 2009 was assessed by analysing the percentage of patients receiving the eight...

When searching for alternative explanations one must try to find characteristic factors that differentiate heart attack patients from the rest of the population. Such factors do exist. One such important factor is a chronic reduction in the control function of the PNS in heart attack patients. The PNS has been described in detail in Section 2 “What is the relationship between stress and heart a...

The hypothesis that a family history of heart attack before the age of 60 years is an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease was examined in a random sample of 1044 men aged 40-70. Data on personal and family history, smoking, weight, height, plasma lipid and lipoprotein concentrations, blood pressure, and resting and exercise electrocardiograms were collected according to the stand...

An objective measurement of anxiety at defined intervals after the onset of acute cardiac symptoms was made in 203 men admitted to the Coronary Care Unit, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, and in 83 patients in a Teesside coronary survey. Of the Teesside patients, 50 were treated at home, 22 were admitted initially to a coronary care unit, and 11 were admitted directly to a general medical ward. In...

Am I likely to have a heart attack? Several things can increase your risk of a heart attack. Some things, such as your age and sex, cannot be changed. But others, such as high blood pressure and high cholesterol, can be treated. Major risk factors for CHD include diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, male sex, older age, smoking, and a father who had a heart attack before 55 years of...