[Acute myocardial infarction: epidemiologic study of the proportion of patients who die before reaching a hospital].

In the treatment of acute myocardial infarction, the first few hours following the onset of symptoms are often decisive as to the outcome. However, many patients die before reaching a hospital. We tried to estimate this proportion for one year for the canton of Tessin by studying hospital data and official death certificates. Such an estimation is most important for the measurement of the incidence of an often rapidly fatal disease like acute myocardial infarction, as well as for the evaluation of forms of emergency transport and care in our health system.