Door-to-balloon

Door-to-balloon is a time measurement in emergency cardiac care (ECC), specifically in the treatment of ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (or STEMI).

[7][8][9] The benefit of prompt, expertly performed primary percutaneous coronary intervention over thrombolytic therapy for acute ST elevation myocardial infarction is now well established.

[10] Few hospitals can provide PCI within the 90 minute interval,[11] which prompted the American College of Cardiology (ACC) to launch a national Door to Balloon (D2B) Initiative in November 2006.

[16] The program will concentrate on patient education to make the public more aware of the signs of a heart attack and the importance of calling 9-1-1 for emergency medical services (EMS) for transport to the hospital.

[25] Bradley et al. (Circulation 2006) performed a qualitative analysis of 11 hospitals in the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction that had median door-to-balloon times = or < 90 minutes.

In some locations, a prehospital 12 lead ECG may be transmitted to the emergency department with the use of a Bluetooth capable cardiac monitor and cell phone.