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Hubbies React to Stroke Symptoms Before Wives (CME/CE)

MedPageToday, 2012

looking at the relationship between marital status and the time it took to seek myocardial infarction care.
That study showed that married men with an acute MI accompanied by chest pain presented to the hospital faster than their single counterparts.
To explore the issue for stroke, Lee-Iannotti and colleagues conducted a retrospective review of 192 patients with acute stroke symptoms who were brought to the Mayo Clinic Hospital by emergency medical services from September 2010 to November 2011.
The average time from when patients became aware of stroke symptoms to activation of the 911 system was 45 minutes, ranging from one to 519 minutes.
The only significant variation in that time was seen in the comparison between married men and women.
Commenting on the study, Daniel Lackland, DrPH, of the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, said previous research has highlighted improved access to, use of, and compliance with therapy for various conditions among married men.
"This is consistent with other studies that have shown that having that relationship, having a partner, is an important component in medical care," said Lackland, who is also a spokesperson for the American Heart Association.
Lee-Iannotti said that the next steps will be to look at a larger sample of patients and then to conduct a prospective study using questionnaires to explore the reasons why patients present to the hospital when they do.
Lee-Iannotti J, et al "Effect of marital status on health-seeking behavior following onset of acute stroke symptoms" ASA 2012; Abstract 3196.
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