2010 Canadian Cardiovascular Society/Canadian Heart Rhythm Society Training Standards and Maintenance of Competency in Adult Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology

The last guidelines on training for adult cardiac electrophysiology (EP) were published by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society in 1996.¹ Since then, substantial changes in the knowledge and practice of EP have mandated a review of the previous guidelines by the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society, an affiliate of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Novel tools and techniques also now allow electrophysiologists to map and ablate increasingly complex arrhythmias previously managed with pharmacologic or device therapy. Furthermore, no formal attempt had previously been made to standardize EP training across the country. The 2010 Canadian Cardiovascular Society/Canadian Heart Rhythm Society Training Standards and Maintenance of Competency in Adult Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology represent a consensus arrived at by panel members from both societies, as well as EP program directors across Canada and other select contributors. In describing program requirements, the technical and cognitive skills that must be acquired to meet training standards, as well as the minimum number of procedures needed in order to acquire these skills, the new guidelines provide EP program directors and committee members with a template to develop an appropriate curriculum for EP training for cardiology fellows here in Canada.     

High-fidelity simulation is associated with good discriminability in emergency medicine residents’ in-training examinations

In-training examinations (ITEs), arranged during residency training, evaluate the residents’ performances periodically. There is limited literature focusing on the effectiveness of resident ITEs in the format of simulation-based examinations, as compared to traditional oral or written tests. Our primary objective is to investigate the effectiveness and discriminative ability of high-fidelity simulation compared with other measurement formats in emergency medicine (EM) residency training program.This is a retrospective cohort study. During the 5-year study period, 8 ITEs were administered to 68 EM residents, and 253 ITE measurements were collected. Different ITE scores were calculated and presented as mean and standard deviation. The ITEs were categorized into written, oral, or high-fidelity simulation test forms. Discrimination of ITE scores between different training years of residency was examined using a one-way analysis of variance test.The high-fidelity simulation scores correlated to the progression of EM training, and residents in their fourth training year (R4) had the highest scores consistently, followed by R3, R2, and then R1. The oral test scores had similar results but not as consistent as the high-fidelity simulation tests. The written test scores distribution failed to discriminate the residents’ seniority. The high-fidelity simulation test had the best discriminative ability and better correlation between different EM residency training years comparing to other forms.High-fidelity simulation tests had the good discriminative ability and were well correlated to the EM training year. We suggest high-fidelity simulation should be a part of ITE in training programs associated with critical or emergency patient cares.     

A comparison between the efficacy of lectures given by emergency and non-emergency physicians in an international emergency medicine educational intervention

OBJECTIVE: The Tuscan Emergency Medicine Initiative is an international collaboration designed to create a sustainable emergency medicine training and qualification process in Tuscany, Italy. Part of the program involves training all emergency physicians currently practicing in the region. This qualification process includes didactic lectures, clinical rotations and practical workshops for those with significant emergency department experience. Lectures in the didactic portion were given by both emergency medicine (EM) and non-EM faculty. We hypothesized that faculty who worked clinically in EM would give more effective lectures than non-EM faculty. METHODS: Fifty-one emergency physicians from the hospitals surrounding Florence completed the course, which included 48 one-hour lectures. Twenty lectures were given by practicing emergency physicians and 28 were given by non-EM faculty. Participants completed an evaluation at the end of each session using a 5-point Likert scale describing the pertinence of the lecture to EM, the efficacy and clarity of the presentation, the accuracy of the information and the didactic ability of the lecturer. RESULTS: A mean of 38.5 evaluations was completed for each lecture. Every factor was significantly higher for lectures given by EM faculty: the pertinence of the lecture to EM (4.46 vs. 4.16, p < 0.001), the efficacy of the faculty (4.10 vs. 3.91, p < 0.001), the accuracy of the lecture content (4.16 vs 3.96, p < 0.001), and the didactic ability of the instructors (4.02 vs. 3.85, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: When teaching EM, evaluations of lectures in this training intervention were higher for lectures given by EM faculty than by non-EM faculty.     

Physical exercise with weight reduction lowers blood pressure and improves abnormal left ventricular relaxation in pharmacologically treated hypertensive patients

In spite of appropriate pharmacologic therapy, many hypertensive patients develop an abnormal left ventricular relaxation with preserved systolic function. This cardiac dysfunction increases the risk of cardiovascular complications. The authors assessed the therapeutic effects of an intervention with exercise training and weight reduction in patients with pharmacologically well-treated hypertension who had abnormal left ventricular relaxation with normal systolic function. Eighty-eight (44%) of 202 medically treated hypertensive patients had abnormal ventricular relaxation with normal ejection fraction. These patients were randomized to either a 6-month intervention program (cycle ergometer training twice a day for 5 days a week and a hypocaloric diet) or a control program (unchanged pharmacologic therapy without exercise and diet. Body weight, blood pressure, New York Heart Association class, glomerular filtration rate, and exercise capacity and workload were measured. Cardiac function was assessed by measuring N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide values, the electrocardiographic QT dispersion interval, and echocardiography (left atrial size, Doppler-derived E/A ratio, and mitral deceleration time). Physical exercise with weight reduction reduced blood pressure, decreased cardiovascular risks, and improved abnormal left ventricular relaxation. Measuring left atrial size is the best method for assessing changes in left ventricular relaxation with preserved systolic function.     

An emergency medical services curriculum for emergency medicine residencies

Knowledge and experience in emergency medical services (EMS) are essential objectives for residency training in emergency medicine (EM). Although a need exists for competent physician EMS leaders, opportunities for educating emergency physicians in this aspect of emergency care have been few. We describe a curriculum for training EM residents in EMS. The purpose of this training is to assure competency in both on-line and off-line medical control. The former requires a working knowledge of the local system policies and the ability to respond appropriately to paramedic radio calls. Additional education prepares the resident for a much broader role in EMS, including off-line medical control.     

Pulmonary rehabilitation for the elderly

The elements of a pulmonary rehabilitation program require a variety of different skills. However, the number of people involved in a rehabilitation program will vary with the clinical setting and the number of patients served. In a large program, a physician, respiratory nurse, physical and occupational therapist, psychologist, social worker, respiratory therapist, and dietitian might all be involved on a full- or part-time basis. In other settings, two or three individuals, mostly working part-time, may be the entire team. Pulmonary rehabilitation may be performed on an outpatient basis, in a group practice setting, or in an inpatient hospital unit. Whatever its size, a system must be developed that allows for thorough initial evaluation of patients, formation of rational goals with the patient, adequate time for patient education and training, ongoing re-enforcement to consolidate and maintain gains, and an appropriate means of intervention when the patient experiences an exacerbation of his disease. It should also be recognized that in many areas of the country, there are too few patients and scarce medical resources to mount an intensive pulmonary rehabilitation program. In such instances, referral can be made to larger medical centers. More importantly, the individual practitioner can successfully incorporate many of the elements of pulmonary rehabilitation into his practice by taking the time and effort necessary to ascertain how illness affects the daily lives of the patient with COPD and then addressing patient concerns in an ongoing, comprehensive manner.     

Capturing the power of academic medicine to enhance health and health care of the elderly in the USA

As in Japan, the US population is aging progressively, a trend that will challenge the health-care system to provide for the chronic, multiple and complex needs of its elderly citizens. and as in Japan, the US academic health enterprise has only belatedly mounted a response to that challenge. Herein is reviewed a quarter of a century of the author's personal experience in developing new programs in gerontology and geriatric medicine from a base in the Department of Internal Medicine at three US academic health centers (AHC): The University of Washington (as Division Head), Johns Hopkins University (as Vice-Chair), and Wake Forest University (as Chair). Rather than to build a program from a new department of geriatrics, this strategy was chosen to capture the power and resources of the department of internal medicine, the largest university department, to 'gerontologize' the institution, beginning with general internal medicine and all of the medical subspecialties (the approach also chosen to date at all but a handful of US AHC). The keystone of success at each institution has been careful faculty development through fellowship training in clinical geriatrics, education and research. Over the same interval major national progress has occurred, including expanded research and training at the National Institute on Aging and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and accreditation of more than 100 fellowship programs for training and certification of geriatricians. However, less than 1% of US medical graduates elect to pursue such training. Hence such geriatricians will remain concentrated at AHC, and most future geriatric care in the USA will be provided by a broad array of specialists, who will be educated and trained in geriatrics by these academic geriatricians.     

2020 中国心力衰竭医疗质量控制报告

心力衰竭(心衰)是各种心脏疾病的严重和终末阶段,已经成为影响我国居民健康的重要公共卫生问题。针对目前我国心衰规范化诊治方面存在的问题,积极开展心衰医疗质量评价和改进,提高心衰诊治的规范性,具有重要的意义。自从2018年3月成立国家心血管病中心心力衰竭专病医联体(HFMU-NCCD),加入医院已超过1000家。国家心血管病医疗质量控制中心专家委员会心力衰竭专家工作组(NCCQI-HF)纳入2017~2020年期间在医联体单位住院的心衰患者,开展全国心衰医疗质量评价,包括心衰的诊断与评估、指南指导的药物治疗及器械治疗、临床结局等,并依据该研究结果和我们的思考,撰写成本报告。此外,通过与China-HF注册研究(2012~2015年)结果及美国心脏学会(AHA)的“跟着指南走——心力衰竭(GWTG-HF)”项目结果做比较,发现当前我国在心衰诊疗规范化方面较以前有明显改善,但仍存在诊疗不足、治疗不当及治疗过度等现象,不同等级医院之间也存在差异,而且与美国比较仍有一定差距,也体现出心衰患者特点以及国情的不同。未来需要提高数据填报数量和质量,持续开展医疗质量控制和改进,以便从整体上提高我国心衰的诊治水平。     

‘Light-chain escape-multiple myeloma’—an escape phenomenon from plateau phase: report of the largest patient series using LC-monitoring

Purpose  More intensive and novel therapy options in multiple myeloma (MM) hold the promise to improve treatment outcome. However, disease evolution, induced with long disease duration and extensive pretreatment, has resulted in changes in the biological behaviour of MM and unusual relapse emergence, such as of extramedullary (EM) disease or a shift in secretion from intact immunoglobulin (Ig) to free-light chains (FLCs) only. Methods  We studied ten patients since 2004, thoroughly assessed relevant patient characteristics, prominent similarities, SFLC-changes, therapy response, mode and speed of progression, and the incidence of light-chain escape (LCE)-MM within our entire myeloma patient cohort. Serum FLCs (SFLCs) were determined via Freelite-assay (Dade-Behringer Nephelometer). Results  This report summarizes the to date largest series of ten patients, whose MM appeared stable, as judged by conventional monitoring of intact Ig levels, but developed severe organ dysfunction as a consequence of initially undetected LC-progression. Median number of anti-MM cycles before LCE occurrence was six, including autologous and/or allogeneic stem cell transplants and novel drugs, predominantly thalidomide, in 4/10. Classic diagnostics, such as electrophoresis and quantitative Ig measurement proved futile to detect LC-progression, whereas SFLCs were reliable markers. The LCE-MM prevalence within 407 MM patients treated in our institution between 2004 and 2007 was 2.46%. Conclusions  Our report suggests that early detection of LCE-MM by means of serial SFLC measurements may prevent unnecessary complications, allows to detect unusual relapse manifestations in the era of intensive and biological therapy options and possibly also permits to improve treatment results in LCE-MM. A. Kühnemund and M. Engelhardt contributed equally.     

PRICE-Ⅳ symposium: Electrophysiology and heart rhythm disorders in the elderly

The Fourth Pivotal Research in Cardiology in the Elderly (PRICE-Ⅳ) symposium, entitled “Electrophysiology and Heart Rhythm Disorders in the Elderly: Mechanisms and Management“, was held on November 11, 2006 in Chicago. The program, sponsored by the Society of Geriatric Cardiology and supported by a conference grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), featured a distinguished cadre of over 25 internationally acclaimed experts on all aspects of heart rhythm disorders in the elderly, ranging from basic mechanisms to clinical features and management to end-of-life care. Dr. Michael W. Rich, from Washington University in St. Louis, and Dr. Anne B. Curtis, from the University of South Florida in Tampa, served as co-chairs.Meeting participants uniformly praised the superb faculty,the excellent blend of basic and clinical sciences, and the outstanding quality of the overall program.……     

Detoxification of Alcoholics: Improving Care by Symptom-Triggered Sedation

This study evaluated a staff training program on alcohol detoxification. Training consisted of didactic presentations on the pathophysiology of alcohol withdrawal syndrome and information on use of the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA-A). Treatment course was assessed on 100 patients admitted before or after the training. Whereas 73% of patients were given drug therapy before, only 13% of patients received drug therapy after. Significantly more benzodiazepine was administered before training (M = 108.48 mg) than after training (M = 42.97 mg). After excluding those who received no drug therapy, patients who received benzodiazepine after the training received significantly higher amounts of benzodiazepine (M = 252.50 mg) than those who received drug before (M = 144.64 mg). The average number of hours from the first benzodiazepine dose to the last was reduced from 13 to 5 hr. Clinical implications of matching patient symptomatology with appropriate drug therapy, thus preventing both over- and under-treatment for alcohol withdrawal symptoms, are discussed.     

Extramedullary relapse after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation for haematological malignancy

We describe the risk factors for and the natural history and response to treatment of extramedullary (EM) relapse in 183 patients who underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (alloBMT) for a variety of haematological malignancies at our institution over a 7 1/2 year period. Fifty-one patients relapsed; 15 had EM relapse either alone or in association with marrow involvement. A retrospective analysis found that the presence of chronic GVHD and a longer interval between transplant and relapse were independently associated with an increased risk of EM compared to marrow-only relapse. EM relapse was also associated with a longer post-relapse survival. Patients with EM relapse appeared to respond to cytotoxic therapy but not to DLI. EM relapse after alloBMT may be more common than previously thought and have a better prognosis than marrow-only relapse. While patients developing chronic GVHD after alloBMT have a lower overall relapse risk than those who do not, they may be more prone to delayed relapse at EM sites.     

Reperfusion therapy for acute myocardial infarction

The following National Heart Foundation of Australia (NHFA) guidelines are intended to assist physicians and other health-care providers in the appropriate management of patients presenting with acute myocardial infarction with ST elevation requiring reperfusion therapy. The guidelines describe the key elements required to obtain optimum reperfusion and outcome for an individual patient with myocardial infarction. They try to encompass most circumstances that apply (e.g. metropolitan and country) and give broad boundaries for practice. It is recognised that the treatment of the individual patient will vary depending on a number of factors, some patient related (e.g. age, blood pressure, type of infarct, previous treatments), and some place related (e.g. availability of hospital, angioplasty and bypass surgery). These guidelines are deliberately succinct and do not include all the classification of evidence. For a more detailed review of the evidence the reader is referred to the American College of Cardiology AHA Guidelines available on the web site of the American College of Cardiology ( www.acc.org) and the American Heart Association (www americanheart.org). Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is usually caused by the complete occlusion of a coronary artery by thrombus secondary to the rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque. Studies have shown that prompt and sustained restoration of blood flow to the myocardium reduces mortality and other complications of AMI.In order to obtain optimum early treatment: the patient must recognise the symptoms of AMI and seek medical help; the correct diagnosis must be made by medical practitioners and the most appropriate reperfusion therapy must be chosen for a given patient     

Changes and predictive value of dispersion of repolarization parameters for appropriate therapy in patients with biventricular implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.

BACKGROUND: The impact of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on dispersion of repolarization is controversial. The benefit of CRT on sudden cardiac death has been demonstrated only after 3 years follow-up. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore the immediate effect of CRT on dispersion of repolarization and to define the value of dispersion of repolarization parameters as predictors of appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy. METHODS: Data from 100 patients who underwent CRT-ICD placement were analyzed retrospectively. Patients had symptoms of New York Heart Association functional class III or IV heart failure, left ventricular ejection fraction < or =35%, and QRS duration >130 ms or QRS < or =130 ms with left intraventricular dyssynchrony. ECG indices of dispersion of repolarization before and immediately after CRT implantation (QT dispersion, Tpeak-Tend [Tp-e], and Tp-e dispersion) were measured. RESULTS: In patients who were upgraded to a biventricular system, Tp-e did not increase significantly after CRT. However, Tp-e increased significantly after CRT in patients with left bundle branch block or narrow QRS at baseline. After 12-month follow-up, 22 patients had received appropriate ICD therapy. ICD therapy and no ICD therapy groups had similar baseline characteristics, such as secondary prevention and ischemic cardiomyopathy. Postimplantation Tp-e was the only independent predictor of future ICD therapy (P = .02). CONCLUSION: Immediately after CRT, Tp-e did not increase in patients who received a biventricular upgrade; however, Tp-e did increase in patients with preimplantation left bundle branch block or narrow QRS. Postimplantation Tp-e was the only independent predictor of appropriate ICD therapy.     

Effects of Orthostatic Self‐Training on Head‐Up Tilt Testing for the Prevention of Tilt‐Induced Neurocardiogenic Syncope: Comparison of Pharmacological Therapy

Although a wide variety of medical treatments for neurocardiogenic syncope have been proposed, therapy has largely been emperic based on the mechanisms commonly believed to lead to neurocardiogenic fainting. To determine the utility and efficacy of drug therapy and an orthostatic self‐training program in the prevention of tilt‐induced neurocardiogenic syncope, we investigated 43 consecutive patients who had shown syncope and were induced by head‐up tilt test reproducibly, with either traditional medical treatments or orthostatic self‐training at home. The initial 19 of 43 patients were treated with either oral propranolol or disopyramide therapies. The remaining 24 patients were treated with an orthostatic self‐training program alone. Effects of these therapies on head‐up tilt test were reevaluated in all patients. Propranolol prevented syncope in only six (32%) and disopyramide in five (26%) of the 19 patients. There was no significant difference in the effectiveness between them. Syncope was prevented in nine (47%) patients with either propranolol or disopyramide therapy alone, while in the remaining 10 patients it was not. On the other hand, orthostatic self‐training program prevented syncope in 22 (92%) of 24 patients. We concluded that orthostatic self‐training program is far more effective than traditional drug therapies. Orthostatic self‐training is an effective, safe and well accepted therapy in the prevention of tilt‐induced neurocardiogenic syncope.     

Managing acute renal failure in patients with acute decompensated heart failure: The cardiorenal syndrome

In patients with acute decompensated heart failure, worsening renal function during conventional decongestive therapy (cardiorenal syndrome) affects prognosis and the initiation of therapies with known benefit in chronic heart failure. Potential strategies for decongestion in patients who develop cardiorenal syndrome include invasive hemodynamic monitoring to guide therapy, use of continuous diuretic infusions, ultrafiltration, or novel therapy with adenosine or vasopressin receptor antagonists. Clinical trials by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s Heart Failure Network are currently underway to validate such therapies in patients with acute decompensated heart failure with worsening renal function and to establish novel biomarkers for the early identification of patients who develop cardiorenal syndrome.     

Clinical significance of corticosteroid therapy for eosinophilic myocarditis

The recommended treatment for eosinophilic myocarditis (EM), pathologically defined as myocardial inflammation with eosinophil infiltration, is corticosteroids. Although EM has a wide variety of clinical features including the degree of eosinophilic infiltration, there have been no reports on how patients with EM should be treated with corticosteroids irrespective of their pathological findings.Thirty-seven consecutive patients with acute myocarditis hospitalized in our institute between 1996-2009 were enrolled. Excluding those with secondary EM such as Loeffler's endocarditis, hypereosinophilic syndrome, and Churg-Strauss Syndrome, together with drug-induced allergic myocarditis, the subjects were divided into 2 groups according to the existence of eosinophils in the myocardial interstitium observed in endomyocardial biopsy specimens. There were no differences in the clinical characteristics on admission between the 2 groups: with (group EM, n = 22) and without (group lymphocytic myocarditis (LM), n = 7) eosinophilic infiltrates irrespective of pathological differences. The treatment policy has been consistent in our institution: intensive hemodynamic observation and support without corticosteroid administration, not only in LM but also in idiopathic EM. There was no significant difference in clinical recovery in the acute phase as indicated by the hospitalization period, left ventricular ejection fraction, or long-term prognosis in EM compared to LM.A conventional management strategy for idiopathic EM without corticosteroid administration can improve the prognosis in the acute and chronic phases, similar to that of LM.     

Workshop: Reimbursement for anticoagulation services

Anticoagulant therapy units (ATUs) have been developed to enhance quality expertise in the care of patients receiving anticoagulant therapy with warfarin and to coordinate care. The Anticoagulation Forum, representing the program directors and staff of ATUs, surveyed its membership for its 1995 National Conference on Anticoagulation Therapy. Responses were received from 109 programs with an average of 467 patients each. The consensus of program directors was that inadequate reimbursement was an important deterrent to the expansion of such care. A review of current literature reveals substantially superior outcomes in anticoagulation units versus routine care, with estimates of 4.5 fewer major bleeding events per 100 patient-years of treatment and 6 fewer thromboembolic events per 100 patientyears of treatment. The Anticoagulation Forum encourages third-party payers to develop appropriate strategies to reimburse this type of care, which should substantially improve the outcomes of anticoagulant therapy while reducing overall costs.     

Aerobic physical training has little effect on cardiovascular autonomic control in aging rats subjected to early menopause

We investigated and compared the effects of physiological menopause (PM) and early menopause (EM) and the adaptations promoted by physical training on the cardiovascular autonomic control of aged rats. Female Wistar rats (N = 72) were assigned to 3 groups: control (22 weeks old rats, undergoing sham surgery in the 10th week of life), PM (82 weeks old rats, undergoing sham surgery in the 10th week of life) and EM (82 weeks old rats, undergoing ovariectomy in the 10th week of life). In each group, half of the rats were subjected to swimming training over a period of 10 weeks. Sedentary PM and EM groups had higher basal mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR) and lower intrinsic HR compared to the sedentary control group. Physical training reduced MAP in PM group. All trained groups had lower basal HR; however, only control and PM-trained groups showed decreased intrinsic HR. The assessment of cardiac autonomic balance showed that PM and EM sedentary groups exhibited sympathetic predominance compared to control group. After physical training, only EM group presented sympathetic predominance. HR variability (pulse interval) was similar among all sedentary groups. However, control and PM-trained groups showed lower power in low frequency band (LF; 0.2–0.75 Hz) and higher power in high frequency band (HF; 0.75–3.0 Hz). The analysis of systolic arterial pressure variability revealed that PM and EM sedentary groups had higher LF power. However, PM group showed lower LF power following physical training. Finally, PM and EM groups had a reduction in spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity, that was attenuated by physical training. The overall results suggest that PM or EM promotes similar negative effects on MAP, HR and cardiovascular autonomic control. However, unlike the PM group, physical training was not able to mitigate all negative effects of EM on cardiovascular autonomic control.     

The National Heart Attack Alert Program: Progress at 5 Years in Educating Providers,Patients, and the Public and Future Directions

The National Heart Attack Alert Program (NHAAP) was launched by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in 1991 with the goal of reducing morbidity and mortality from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) through the rapid identification and treatment of individuals with symptoms and signs of an AMI. To achieve this goal, the NHAAP established objectives for each of three phases of action where treatment delays can occur: in the hospital, the prehospital setting, and the patient/bystander arena. The NHAAP initially directed its educational efforts toward emergency department professionals. Recommendations for reducing delays in emergency department identification of patients presenting with heart attack symptoms were developed by a working group convened in late 1991. These recommendations were published in February 1994 in a peer-reviewed journal reaching more than 17,000 emergency physicians. The NHAAP worked in a partnership with its coordinating committee, representing 40 health professional, voluntary, and government organizations, to extend the reach of the report's recommendations to their members. Strategies for promoting the emergency department recommendations included publication of excerpts in newsletters and journals of the medical, nursing, and prehospital provider organizations represented on the NHAAP Coordinating Committee, and through symposia at annual meetings. Industry assisted with dissemination efforts and with implementing a continuous quality improvement program based on the paper's recommendations. The NHAAP also developed, with the Joint Committee on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, a time-to-treatment indicator for thrombolytic therapy to be incorporated into their Indicator Measurement System (IMSystem). To track achievement of the objectives related to the Hospital Action Phase, national data sources for emergency department management of patients with AMI were evaluated at the 5-year point of the NHAAP. Data from a national registry showed that the median time from presentation at the emergency department to receiving thrombolytic therapy declined by about one third between 1992 and the last half of 1995. The percentage of all Medicare patients receiving thrombolytic therapy within the recommended 30 minutes after emergency department arrival nearly doubled between 1992 and 1995. Based on these and other results presented at the 5-year juncture of the program, the NHAAP Coordinating Committee assessed progress and identified new areas of focus for the next 5 years. Improvements in emergency departments' ability to identify and treat AMI patients progressed during the first 5 years of the NHAAP, when the program was highlighting this as a priority. This model is continuing to be used to address delays in the Prehospital Action Phase. Further research from a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) community intervention trial will guide the program in its plans for full-scale public education to address the Patient/Bystander Recognition and Action Phase.