On the European Day for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Risk, SAMU 061 reminds the importance of maintaining healthy habits
In 2024, SAMU 061 Baleares attended 23,246 cases related to cardiovascular conditions, an increase of 5% compared to the 22,109 cases attended in 2023. Updated figures for cardiovascular disease-related care activity over the past year reflect an increase in the incidence of serious time-dependent pathologies such as heart attacks, strokes, and cardiorespiratory arrests.
This increase highlights the importance of prevention, early detection, and immediate action. For this reason, on the European Day for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Risk, SAMU 061 Baleares recalls its commitment to training the population in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and the use of semi-automatic defibrillators (DESA), which are essential to improving survival rates in cardiac arrest.
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During 2024 the incidence of cardiovascular diseases increased by 5%
SAMU061 has specific assistance codes for this type of emergency that require early activation, stabilisation of the clinical picture at the pre-hospital level and coordination with health centres to provide optimal treatment.
In this regard, the infarction code for myocardial infarctions was activated 376 times last year, an increase of 26% compared to the previous year.
The stroke code was activated 801 times, an increase of 15 % compared to 2023. As regards the arrest code, to deal with cases of cardiorespiratory arrest, it was activated 507 times in 2024 (14% more than in the previous year), with a rate of 41% of patients resuscitated on arrival at the hospital.
By gender, both myocardial infarction and stroke have a greater impact on men, accounting for 72 % compared to 28 % of women in both cases. In the case of cardiorespiratory arrest, this proportion is evened out but is still more prevalent in men than in women (58% men versus 42% women). The higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in men, as well as life expectancy and other social factors, determine the difference between the two sexes.
In terms of age, 80% of cases of these three conditions occur between 30 and 70 years of age. However, nowadays, health centres in the Balearic Islands also have specific care services for patients at the extremes of the aforementioned age range, such as the paediatric stroke code or care for cardiac arrest, as well as for elderly patients.
Delayed treatment and care within the first few minutes have an impact not only on years of life lost but also on the quality of life in the event of survival without the after-effects of delayed care. Thus, a successful outcome depends on the prompt activation of the emergency team. Rapid identification by the patient or companions is essential as it is a sudden and acute condition and not a chronic worsening process with which the patient’s relatives or caregivers may be more familiar. At that moment, SAMU 061 stabilises the patients in situ and transfers them to the hospital where they can receive specialised treatment.
If a heart attack or stroke code is activated in the Balearic Islands, the time from the time SAMU 061 attends the patient until definitive treatment is offered in the hospital is 46 minutes on average, below the time recommended by different international organisations, which is set at 120 minutes. The response times of emergency teams are 12 minutes for cardiac arrest.
The most common presenting signs and symptoms of these acute cardiovascular complications are sudden loss of consciousness and laboured breathing in the case of cardiorespiratory arrest; oppressive chest pain in the case of myocardial infarction; and slurred speech, decreased strength in one side of the body, blindness and sudden onset gait instability in the case of stroke.