Chest pain and acute coronary syndrome
Editor
D.C. Cone, J.H. Brice, T.R. Delbridge and J.B. Myers
Department
Emergency Medicine
Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Title
Emergency Medical Services: Clinical Practice and Systems Oversight: Second Edition
Abstract
Chest pain represents a frequent complaint among EMS patients, although an ultimate diagnosis of acute coronary syndrome is made for fewer than one in 100. The goal of the EMS system is to identify those patients for whom time-sensitive interventions are needed to improve outcomes. Integral to that effort is public awareness so that help is sought early, screening by emergency medical dispatchers so that the right level of help is sent to the patient, vigilance among field EMS personnel so that important problems are considered, acquisition of 12-lead ECGs, and quality communications with receiving facilities so that definitive care can be expedited. EMS providers may not be able to diagnose all problems, but they often reliably categorize the nature of them, and their ability to identify acute coronary syndromes is crucial to improve patients' timely access to definitive care.
First Page
120
Last Page
128
DOI
10.1002/9781118990810.ch13
Publication Date
1-20-2015
Publisher
John Wiley and Sons, Ltd
Recommended Citation
Ornato, J., Sayre, M., & Syrett, J. I. (2015). Chest pain and acute coronary syndrome. Emergency Medical Services: Clinical Practice and Systems Oversight: Second Edition, 120-128. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118990810.ch13