Recognizing a Heart Attack: Patients’ Knowledge of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Its Relation to Prehospital Decision Delay in Acute Coronary Syndrome
Metadatos
Mostrar el registro completo del ítemAutor
Garrido del Águila, Dunia; Petrova, Dafina; Catena Martínez, Andrés; Ramírez Hernández, José Antonio; García Retamero Imedio, María Del RocíoEditorial
Petko Kusev, University of Huddersfield
Materia
Acute coronary syndrome Patient decision making Prehospital delay Knowledge Decision delay Heart attack Cardiovascular risk
Fecha
2020-08-25Referencia bibliográfica
Garrido D, Petrova D, Catena A, Ramírez-Hernández JA and Garcia-Retamero R (2020) Recognizing a Heart Attack: Patients’ Knowledge of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Its Relation to Prehospital Decision Delay in Acute Coronary Syndrome. Front. Psychol. 11:2056. [doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02056]
Patrocinador
Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness PSI2011-22954 PSI2014-51842-R; Plan Propio de Investigación; Andalusian Regional Government; European Union (EU) SOMM17-6103-UGRResumen
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.