Irish Heart Attack Audit National Report 2024

Irish Heart Attack Audit National Report 2024 Image

This is the fourth Irish Heart Attack Audit National Report, reporting on data from 1,615 patients with an ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) who received treatment in one of the 10 primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centres in Ireland, and on data from their referring hospitals, during 2024.

The data provide detailed information about the care received, the processes of care delivered and the outcomes of patients with a STEMI, enabling each participating hospital to benchmark itself against comparable hospitals in Ireland.

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Key Findings

The report presents data from 1,615 patients treated in one of the ten primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) centres in Ireland in 2024. A key finding from the report indicates that 45% of patients called for help within an hour of symptom onset, a decrease from 49% in 2023. Primary PCI was delivered to only 77% of eligible patients, a declining trend from 86% in 2017. Only 61% of patients received primary PCI within the recommended 2 hours after a heart attack is diagnosed.

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Key Recommendations

Recommendation 1

Improve the rate of primary PCI for all patients with a STEMI.

Recommendation 2

Improve the timeliness of reperfusion for all patients with a STEMI.

Recommendation 3

All PCI centres should implement targeted quality improvement initiatives to increase the proportion of patients with a STEMI who arrive at a PCI centre by ambulance who achieve the recommended ‘door to balloon’ time of 30 minutes or less.

Recommendation 4

All PCI centres should implement targeted quality improvement initiatives to increase the proportion of patients with a STEMI who self-present to a PCI centre who achieve the recommended ‘first medical contact to balloon’ time of 60 minutes or less.