RT Journal Article
T1 Recognizing a Heart Attack: Patients' Knowledge of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Its Relation to Prehospital Decision Delay in Acute Coronary Syndrome.
A1 Garrido, Dunia
A1 Petrova, Dafina
A1 Catena, Andrés
A1 Ramírez-Hernández, José Antonio
A1 Garcia-Retamero, Rocio
K1 acute coronary syndrome
K1 cardiovascular risk
K1 decision delay
K1 heart attack
K1 knowledge
K1 patient decision making
K1 prehospital delay
AB In acute coronary syndromes (ACSs), longer decision delay - the time patients wait before seeking medical attention after symptoms have started - increases the risk of complications and death. However, many patients wait much longer than recommended and research is needed investigating how patient decision delay can be reduced. In a cross-sectional study of 120 ACS survivors, we investigated the relationship between knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors and decision delay. Several days after the onset of a cardiac event, patients completed a questionnaire measuring demographics, decision delay, objective knowledge of cardiovascular risks factors and of ACS symptoms, and subjective perceptions of symptoms during the cardiac episode. Relevant clinical data were extracted from patients' medical records. In a multiple linear regression analysis, controlling for demographic and clinical factors, objective knowledge of cardiovascular risk factors and ACS symptoms, and subjective attributions of symptoms to a cardiac cause were related to shorter decision delays. Among patients with relatively high knowledge of risk factors, only 5% waited more than 1 h to seek help, compared to 22% among patients with relatively low knowledge. These results suggest that knowledge of the factors that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease could play a role in patient decision making during an acute cardiac event. We discuss methodological issues and potential underlying mechanisms related to decision heuristics and biases, which can inform future research.
SN 1664-1078
YR 2020
FD 2020-08-25
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10668/26392
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10668/26392
LA en
DS RISalud
RD Apr 5, 2025