Door-to-balloon times from freestanding emergency departments meet ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction reperfusion guidelines.

Background: Freestanding emergency departments (FEDs) introduce a challenge to physicians who care for the patient with an ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) because treatment is highly time dependent. FEDs have no percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) capabilities, which necessitates transfer to a PCI-capable facility or fibrinolysis.

Study Objective: Our aim was to determine the proportion of STEMI patients who arrived to an FED and were subsequently transferred for PCI and met the door-to-balloon reperfusion guidelines of 90 min.