Acute coronary syndrome: which age group tends to delay call for help?

Background: Early diagnosis and treatment of ACS can reduce the risk of complications and death. Delay calling for help can increase morbidity and mortality. It is unclear which age group among patients with acute coronary syndrome tend to delay their call for help.

Results: Our observational retrospective study showed that men and women in their 50s and 40s respectively tend to delay their call for help from symptoms onset. For the former, the mean time delays (590 ± 71.1 min), whereas for the latter it was (1084 ± 120.1 min). Moreover, these groups tend to have a longer time delay between symptoms onset and arrival at the hospital. Among deaths, we observed that the death rate was proportional to the time delay, which is not unexpected. Next step, we plan to perform a qualitative study in the form of questionnaires to target the individuals with a high risk of CVD within these age groups.

Conclusion: Middle age group of both genders tend to delay their call for help when they experience symptoms of ACS; moreover, regardless of the age, the longer the delay, the higher the mortality rate. The results of this study gave us a better understanding of our local population and will pave the road for a well-structured teaching programme for them to minimise the time delay for calling for help.