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THE INITIATIVE
Most of the 1.2 million Americans who suffer a heart attack each year go for hours without getting help, because they're embarrassed to call 911, or they can't believe a heart attack might be happening to them. As a result, instead of receiving the immediate care that Emergency Medical Service teams offer, roughly a third die before getting to a hospital.
Launched in 2006, the TIME project (Timely Intervention for Myocardial Emergencies) and Dial Don't Drive Atlanta, are the product of The Metro Atlanta Cardiology Consortium, one of the first urban, multi-hospital collaborations in the United States developed to provide and encourage rapid response to cardiac emergencies.
The Metro Atlanta Cardiology Consortium, through Dial Don't Drive Atlanta, is working to decrease the time between the onset of cardiac symptoms and hospital treatment by promoting the use of 911 for possible heart related emergencies. While in transit, EMS can initially diagnose a heart attack, and transmit full 12-lead EKG information from transporting ambulances to one of the five participating hospitals, triggering activation of the hospital's emergency catheterization team and rapid intervention upon patient arrival.
Today, heart attack and stroke victims can benefit from new medications and high-tech defibrillation equipment unavailable to patients in the past, and administered by EMS en route to the hospital. Clot-busting drugs can stop some heart attacks and strokes in progress, reducing disability and saving lives. But to be effective, these treatments must be given quickly after heart attack or stroke symptoms first appear.
So if symptoms occur, don't waste time with all the reasons you shouldn't call for help, remember the reasons you should call 911. - Don't delay, call within 5 minutes.
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