Heart attacks: "Time is muscle"

Gina Kolata starts off a NY Times series discussing heart disease, and how many patients don’t receive optimal treatment.

Comments

N=1
The NYTimes reporters, like most others, entirely neglects to report the contributions of professional nursing in treating patients with heart disease. Since US RN’s provide 95% of ALL healthcare services, it is critical that nursing’s impact be reported in at least a percentage that is reflective of the volume of service that it provides.
No other profession is dismissed and overlooked to the extent that nursing is. Registered nurses are lumped with unlicensed assistive personnel and licensed practical/vocational nurses into a generic “staff” category. Patients – and physicians – do not understand the scope and nature of nursing practice. Everyone loses.
Anonymous
Not entirely misleading journalism but some facts:
1.) Probably less that 2-3% of patients who come to the ER for chest pain are clear candidates for tpa or angioplasty.
2.) Those that are candidates are usually not the ones that ignore their symptoms. These people usually look like and feel like sh** and don’t hesitate to call an ambulance
3.) Most people don’t make any friggin effort whatsoever to change their lifestyle, unlike the guy featured in the article.
4.) N=1 I have no idea why that article about heart disease leads to some conclusion that nurses are not appreciated.

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