RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Early aspirin administration during an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) decreases morbidity and mortality. This investigation examined the extent to which patients with a complaint of chest pain, the symptom most identified with AMI by the general population, self-administer aspirin before the arrival of emergency medical services (EMS) personnel. METHODS: In this prospective, cross-sectional prevalence study, data were derived through the analysis of EMS incident reports for patients with a complaint of chest pain from June 1, 1997, to August 31, 1997. RESULTS: The study included 694 subjects. One hundred two (15%) took aspirin for their chest pain before the arrival of EMS personnel. Of the 322 subjects who reported taking aspirin on a regular basis, 82 (26%) took additional aspirin for their acute chest pain. Only 20 (5%) of the 370 patients who were not using regular aspirin therapy self-administered aspirin acutely (p<0.001). In addition, patients with lower intensity of chest pain (p = 0.03) were more likely to take aspirin for their chest pain. CONCLUSION: Only a relatively small fraction of individuals calling 9-1-1 with acute chest pain take aspirin prior to the arrival of EMS personnel. These individuals are more likely to self-administer aspirin if they are already taking it on a regular basis. It is also possible that they are less likely to take aspirin if their chest pain is more severe.