AFP
Copyright 2008 AFP
OTTAWA, Ontario — More than one-third of Canadians having a heart attack drive themselves to hospital instead of calling for an ambulance, delaying potentially life-saving treatments, says a new study.
Victims may also endanger others by getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle when blood flow to their heart is restricted, said the study presented on Sunday to the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress.
“We’re talking about patients who have full-blown, severe pain, yet they’re trying to find their own way to the hospital,” Madhu Natarajan, a cardiologist at Hamilton Health Sciences Centre, told the daily Ottawa Citizen.
Full Story: 179 of 487 patients admitted to hospital had got themselves to ER