American Heart Association reports one in three Stroke Emergencies don’t use EMS

Those living in Southern states were less likely to call 9-1-1 than their Northern counterparts.

Dallas, TX – More than a third of stroke patients don’t get to the hospital by ambulance, even though that’s the fastest way to get there and the quickest way to get vital treatment, according to new research in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, an American Heart Association journal.

Researchers studied records on more than 204,000 stroke patients arriving at emergency rooms at 1,563 hospitals participating in the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines^®-Stroke quality improvement program in 2003-10.

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