Cardiac triage for patients with cardiovascular Disease
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death (20%) in most industrialized countries. In Iran, also, cardiovascular diseases are among the major causes of death, especially between 55 to 79 years old people with 50% prevalence Triage of cardiac patients is challenging as regardless of intrinsic complications of diagnosing cardiac complaints, triage of patients in emergency departments is generally associate with a degree of undertriage. In other words, when a triage nurse assigns a patient a lower acuity triage level, she/he will fail to properly diagnose the criticality of the patient's condition. Considering the factors associated with delays in this study, it is recommended to offer necessary training to patients with heart ischemic symptoms, enhance patient's information about the role of time in improving disease prognosis, and the time limit of prescribing the said drug. This study demonstrates the importance of time in starting treatment in myocardial infarction patients.