Poor awareness of cardiac, stroke symptoms can delay care

Poor awareness of cardiac, stroke symptoms can delay care
Care for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular conditions has improved dramatically, but not knowing the initial signs may prevent timely treatment.
By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. March 24/31, 2008.
Patients experiencing a heart attack or stroke face a significant barrier to receiving care -- getting themselves and others to recognize what is happening to them.
That's the conclusion of three studies published or presented in February. The problem can be a lack of knowledge of those around someone having a heart attack, according to one paper. In the case of a stroke, the problem could be delays caused by calling the physician's office first, or someone at the office not recognizing the signs, according to two papers presented at a recent conference/.../