Door-to-balloon time for primary percutaneous coronary intervention: how does Northern West Virginia compare?

Background: The National Registry of Myocardial Infarction reported that only 4% of patients transferred for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) achieved the recommendation of a door-to-balloon time of < 90 min.

Objectives: To see if the American College of Cardiologists/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) guideline of < 90 min door-to-balloon time for primary PCI is being met in a rural area of West Virginia, and compare to the national average.

Methods: A chart review of all cases of emergent primary PCI for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) performed in the northern panhandle of West Virginia.