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2/5/2010
A new study suggests that almost two thirds of Canadians live close enough to a specialized hospital to get the best treatment for a heart attack.
A group of University of Calgary researchers looked at how many Canadians over the age of 40 live within an hour of a hospital that's equipped to open a blocked blood vessel to the heart.
They found that there were big differences by region. More than 70 per cent of people in Ontario can access the treatment in that time, while in New Brunswick that figure hovers under 20 per cent.
Some areas, such as Prince Edward Island and the three territories, don't have a single facility that performs the procedure.
But senior author Doctor William Ghali says the paper isn't arguing for more facilities. He says big hospitals that do the procedure frequently do them better than small hospitals that do them occasionally, so it doesn't make sense to blindly set up shop in every hospital.
Rather, he says, the paper should be part of the discussion on the best way to deliver health care in the country. (aw, cp, ccg)
On the Net:
Medicine.UCalgary.ca: Majority of Canadians have access to optimal life saving heart treatment
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