Being alone in the phase of an acute life threatening coronary event: Impact on the patients’ delay time. Findings from the multicenter MEDEA Study

Aims: The aim of the present study is to investigate the impact of unwitnessed STEMI on prehospital delay and delay related cognitive and behavioural responses of the patients-Methods: Data were from the Multicentre MEDEA study with a total of 619 ST-elevated myocardial infarction (STEMI) patients. Data on sociodemographic, clinical and behavioural characteristics were collected at bedside. To assess the context of the symptom onset (witnessed or not) and the subsequent responses (behavioural, cognitive, and emotional), the Response to Symptoms Questionnaire was used. Associations with pre-hospital delay were computed using logistic regressions. Results: Among 619 STEMI patients, a total of 221 (36%) patients were alone during the acute phase of myocardial infarction, and 182 (29%) patients were living alone. These patients experienced severer fear during the acute phase compared with patients with witnessed STEMI but without perceiving their symptoms more seriously. The patients with unwitnessed STEMI were less likely to get into contact with lay others (e.g. family, friends or colleagues) (p