Angioplasty Faster, but Death Rates Stable

People having heart attacks are getting treatment faster in hospitals, a new study shows. But death rates have not dropped, the study found. Many people having heart attacks receive angioplasty. This procedure uses a tiny balloon. It is inflated inside an artery to open up a blockage. Hospitals have tried to improve how fast they get the procedure done after someone reaches the hospital. This is called “door-to-balloon time.” The new study included nearly 100,000 people treated for heart attacks. Researchers compared 2 periods of time. Between July 2005 and June 2006, the average door-to-balloon time was 83 minutes. That dropped to 67 minutes in the year from July 2008 through June 2009. In the first year, 60% of the patients had a door-to-balloon time of less than 90 minutes. That jumped to 83% in the last year of the study.