Don’t ignore heart attack symptoms, especially while travelling

Washington: A study presented at Acute Cardiovascular Care 20191 a European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress reiterated the importance of not ignoring heart attack symptoms while travelling and keeping emergency numbers at hand.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of natural death among people who are travelling, yet, so far, the long-term outlook for those who have a heart attack while on a trip is unknown.
Speaking about it, study author Dr Ryota Nishio said, “If you are travelling and experience heart attack symptoms such as pain in the chest, throat, neck, back, stomach or shoulders that lasts for more than 15 minutes, call an ambulance without delay.” This observational study included 2,564 patients who had a heart attack and rapid treatment with a stent (percutaneous coronary intervention; PCI) between 1999 and 2015 at Juntendo University Shizuoka Hospital. The hospital is on the Izu peninsula, a popular tourist destination near Mount Fuji, and is the regional centre for PCI.
The researchers compared the demographic and clinical characteristics in residents versus people travelling. Patients were followed up for 16 years and the death rates were compared between groups. Mortality data were collected from medical records, telephone contact, and postal questionnaires.
A total of 192 patients (7.5 per cent) were travelling at the onset of the heart attack. Patients who were travelling were younger and had a higher prevalence of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a serious type of heart attack in which a major artery supplying blood to the heart is blocked.