Hospitals are Not the Best Places to Have a Heart Attack

Ah, the irony. A new study indicates people may have better luck being treated for a heart attack in a casino than a hospital. Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that patients suffering from cardiac arrest in a hospital often do not get treatment from a defibrillator in the recommended two minutes at hospitals. In addition, the study suggests a cardiac patient’s survival rate at a hospital is less than the 50 percent rate among people who suffer heart attacks in places such as casinos, airports and other locations where defibrillators are prevalent.

Such delays in treatment are often due to a patient being admitted to the hospital for reasons unrelated to heart problem or when cardiac arrest during 5 p.m. and 8 a.m., which is when hospitals have the fewest number of people on staff.

It just goes to show you that things we often assume to be true are often not. Happy Monday everyone!