ABSTRACT
Introduction: A cardiovascular disease, especially the acute myocardial infarction (AMI), is the most important health problem worldwide. Pre-hospital delay in seeking medical treatment is an effective factor on patients' outcomes. The aim of this study was to identify the patients' reactions to the signs and symptoms of AMI and identifying the factors contributing to the pre-hospital delay in a central hospital in Kashan, Iran. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a random sample of 248 patients suffering from AMI was recruited. A questionnaire used, which contained demographic data, the time, and place of experiencing the symptoms, and the manner of responding to the initial symptoms. The SPSS software (version, 19was used for data analysis. Result: 248 patients participated in the study, 183 (73.8%) were males and 65 (26.2%) were females. The mean delay time was 127 174 min. Moreover, 162 patients had arrived at the hospital during the first 60 min after the onset of the symptoms. The variables of being female (P = 0.024), low level of education (P = 0.014), living in urban area (P = 0.01) and referring to the hospital by one's own car instead of using ambulance were accompanied by more pre-hospital delay. 63 patients (25.4%) referred to the hospital by ambulance. Conclusion: Despite having only 25% of the patients referring to this center by ambulance, most patients arrived on time to the hospital.