Clinical Research
Welcome to the MI-HEART Website
Be alert to heart attack warning signs
Many people do not pay attention to heart attack warning signals.
They tend to ignore these signals, thinking that these signs are caused by indigestion or heartburn.
Some people are fooled by what we call the "Hollywood Attack".
In this typical movie scene, the person having a heart attack has severe chest pain and falls to the ground.
No, most heart attacks don't play out like this. Warning signals may differ from person to person. Waiting, rather than seeking emergency care, often means a delay of several hours before getting medical attention.
Such delay could cost a person his or her life.
About 300,000 Americans die of a heart attack each year just because they didn't get to the hospital in time.
About MI-HEART
More than 1 million Americans have heart attacks each year. That is about one every 29 seconds.
One third of the victims die before they reach a hospital.
Today, emergency rooms have new tools and drugs that can help save the lives of people who are having a heart attack.
These new techniques can also reduce the heart damage that can result.
But time is most important, the quicker you arrive at the emergency room the better your chances of being helped.
This is because the moment a heart attack begins, every minute counts.
The affected part of the heart is dying because it is not getting the oxygen it needs.
This is what MI-HEART is all about. It is designed to help you react quickly if you do have a heart attack.
It is about being prepared, just like you prepare for other things that happen in your life.
This is not to say that you will have a heart attack.
We never really know who will have a heart attack or when. But we do know one thing for sure.
You are in control of your actions, and learning to respond quickly to symptoms that might indicate that you are having a heart attack could save your life.
MI-HEART (Myocardial Infarct Health Education Aimed at Rapid Therapy) is studying ways in which an educational program that makes use of information from a patient's medical record can reduce patient delay in responding to symptoms of a heart attack.
We are interested in learning if patient-specific informational materials are more effective in reducing patient delay in responding to heart attack symptoms when compared to other study groups receiving information that is not patient-specific.
The MI-HEART Project is a randomized pilot study being developed at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia University in New York City.
It is a research project made possible by a contract with the National Library of Medicine.
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