Delay in Seeking Care Results in 55% of Cardiac Deaths in India

The first community-based study, published in the journal Lancet, says that delays in seeking care account for nearly 55% of the reported cardiac and stroke deaths in India.

Nearly 55% of the reported cardiac and stroke deaths in India are attributed to delays in seeking care, according to the first community-based study, which was published in the journal Lancet ().

Only a small percentage of patients with cardiac and stroke problems make it to medical facilities in a timely manner, according to a study done at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi.

What is a Heart Attack | How to Prevent Heart Attacks - Myocardial Infarction Smoking
Heart attack is the death of the heart muscle due to loss of blood supply. Simple guidelines to avoid heart attack are listed.

"Lack of timely care is a predictor of poor outcomes in acute cardiovascular emergencies including stroke. We assessed the presence of delay in seeking appropriate care among those who died due to cardiac/stroke emergencies in a community in northern India," said Anand Krishnan, correspondence author, Centre for Community Medicine, AIIMS, in the study.

The findings showed only 10.8 percent of the deceased reached an appropriate health facility within one hour.

"Delayed presentation leads to delay or failure to provide the most beneficial therapies like thrombolysis for myocardial infarction/ischemic stroke leading to poorer disease outcomes. It is estimated that interventions that reduce delays in care in patients with myocardial infarction (MI) could decrease risk of mortality by 30 percent," the study showed.

Unawareness and Financial Constraints Cause Delays in Seeking Care

"The inability to recognise the severity of illness and financial constraints were identified as major reasons for the delays in seeking care," Krishnan said.

Calculate Your Lifetime Risk of Heart Attack
Heart Risk Calculator assesses the lifetime risk for a heart attack and helps in making the right lifestyle choices to protect your heart.

The study was conducted in two out of three tehsils (Badkhal and Ballabgarh) of Faridabad district of Haryana. The team conducted a social audit among all civil-registered premature deaths among patients aged between 30 and 69 years due to acute cardiac events or stroke in the district.

About half of the deceased did not visit any health facility during their terminal illness and only one in ten subjects reached an appropriate health facility within the first hour after onset of the symptoms.

Quiz on Heart Attack
The risk factors that work behind the scene before a heart attack are familiar to many. But do you realize the extent to which your lifestyle choices are putting your life at risk? Can you identify a heart attack when it occurs? Take our quiz and find out.

Those staying closer to a facility or families with higher income were more likely to reach within the first hour. In general, strokes reported greater delays.

The study also identified affordability and accessibility as important factors for delays resulting in mortality and identified better insurance coverage and appropriate equipped ambulance linkages along with programmes to improve recognition of a heart or brain attack among the populace.

Mental Disorders Triple the Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke in Young Adults
Discover the startling connection between mental disorders and cardiovascular health in young adults. Tripled risk of heart attack and stroke.

Reference:

Prevalence and determinants of delays in care among premature deaths due to acute cardiac conditions and stroke in residents of a district in India - (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lansea/article/PIIS2772-3682(23)00082-3/fulltext)

Source-IANS