Shorter Door-to-Balloon Time for Heart Attack Patients

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Number in minutes of publicly reported “door-to-balloon” times for heart attack patients who underwent primary percutaneous coronary interventions in U.S. hospitals in 2009, according to a new study in the New England Journal of Medicine.¹ Average time in 2005 was 83 minutes. Current guidelines recommend door-to-balloon of 90 minutes or less.

The 30-day mortality rates for studied patients, however, were unchanged over the same time period, suggesting that additional strategies are needed to reduce in-hospital mortality in this population.

Reference

1. Menees DS, Peterson ED, Wang Y, et al. Door-to-balloon time and mortality among patients undergoing primary PCI. N Engl J Med. 2013;369:901-909.