Physicians in Argentina slash treatment time for heart attack patients using WhatsApp

Anicka Slachta | | Cardiovascular Business | Acute Coronary Syndromes

A free messaging app is helping Argentinian doctors diagnose and treat heart attack patients more quickly, leading to reduced rates of mortality from sudden cardiac arrest.

Clinicians have been using the smartphone application WhatsApp to transmit medical data between emergency care responders and hospital-based doctors, the European Society of Cardiology announced in a release Thursday.

In a related study, ambulance doctors who responded to at-home or public reports of cardiac arrest took an electrocardiogram (ECG) immediately upon arriving onsite. If the patient was diagnosed with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the doctor would use WhatsApp to transmit those ECG results to a cardiologist at one of two nearby hospitals in Beunos Aires, where hospital staff could preemptively prepare a catheterization lab.

The patient, then, could bypass the emergency department, saving on average 50 minutes, according to the research.

“Using WhatsApp on a smartphone is a cheap and easy way for ambulance and hospital doctors to communicate, and we will be rolling this procedure out to other hospitals in Argentina,” Nicolas Lalor, the first author of the study, said in the news release.

Read the full story here:

 

WhatsApp use by Argentina ambulances associated with faster heart attack treatm…

""
Anicka Slachta

After graduating from Indiana University-Bloomington with a bachelor’s in journalism, Anicka joined TriMed’s Chicago team in 2017 covering cardiology. Close to her heart is long-form journalism, Pilot G-2 pens, dark chocolate and her dog Harper Lee.

Related Content

Cardiologists reflect on developing primary PCI in face of criticism and pushback
IVUS-guided PCI reduces risks in patients with diabetes
Predicting sudden cardiac death after a heart attack may be impossible—for now
Payment cuts and beyond: Key takeaways for cardiologists from the 2025 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule
‘A huge win’: CMS significantly increases Medicare payments for cardiac CT
FDA clears AI tool that flags signs of heart disease in chest CT scans

Around the web

Health Imaging
Use of AI opportunistic screening in CT for cardiovascular disease

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Health Imaging
New imaging protocols proposed to curb rise of cardiovascular infections

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.

Radiology Business
What does radiology have to do with climate change?

Kate Hanneman, MD, explains why many vendors and hospitals want to lower radiology's impact on the environment. "Taking steps to reduce the carbon footprint in healthcare isn’t just an opportunity," she said. "It’s also a responsibility."