911 and emergency department use for chest pain: results of a media campaign.

STUDY OBJECTIVE

We evaluated the effects of a community public education campaign that encouraged patients to quickly call 911 after the onset of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) symptoms.

SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS

The media campaign focused on residents 50 years of age or older in King County, Washington, which has a population of 1.5 million (1990 census).

DESIGN

We determined 911 responses for chest pain, emergency department visits for AMI symptoms, the number of patients admitted to a CCU with an admitting diagnosis of rule-out MI, and the number of confirmed AMIs before and after the campaign.

RESULTS

The number of emergency medical services (EMS) responses (911 runs) for patients 50 years of age or older experiencing AMI symptoms increased significantly during the media campaign. ED visits for chest pain also increased significantly during the campaign, as did the number of patients 50 years of age or older admitted to a King County CCU with an admitting diagnosis of rule-out MI. Each of the above increases tapered--with time after the media campaign but remained above baseline.

CONCLUSION

An intense public education campaign can significantly increase EMS use, ED visits, and CCU admissions for AMI symptoms. However, these effects taper off with time after the campaign.