For the first time, heart attack patients in England are more likely to have their damaged artery opened with a balloon catheter (primary angioplasty) than receive clot-busting drugs (thrombolysis). Figures from the ninth annual MINAP audit show that 63% of eligible patients had the balloon catheter procedure, compared to 44% in 2008/9. In Wales the increase was from 11% to 22%.
For many ambulance services, the focus has shifted from giving patients the clot-busting drugs in the ambulance before they reach hospital, to making sure patients reach a heart attack centre quickly, so the number of patients receiving treatment in the ambulance has dropped by 36.7%. These results show a significant sea-change in NHS services, with huge progress towards best practice and better patient outcomes. Also, fewer patients overall are dying following a heart attack, partly because of the need for hospitals to record and publish their results as part of the MINAP audit. Professor Roger Boyle, national director for heart disease and stroke, said: “This year we have reached a milestone as more than 60% of heart attack patients receive primary angioplasty. This treatment is a clear example of how the NHS can improve outcomes for patients through more efficient services – it is associated with shorter hospital stays and patient outcomes. Clinical audits like this are vital sources of information for patients and clinicians. We want to expand their use in the NHS so that better information leads to better results.” The MINAP project is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) and run by the National Institute for Clinical Outcomes Research, part of the Institute of Cardiovascular Science at University College London.
