Simple test in the ambulance saves lives after heart attack

A positive link has been found between the survival of heart attack patients and the use of an electrocardiogram (ECG) by ambulance crews, according to astudy by the University of Surrey. Researchers, funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) analysed data from almost half a million adults admitted with a heart attack to hospitals in England and Wales, noting whether patients who came to hospital by ambulance had had an ECG test or not. The results showed that the number of patients who died within 30 days of hospital admission was significantly lower when an ECG test had been carried