Prehospital Approaches to Treating Sudden Cardiac Death and Acute Myocardial Infarction

In the last 25 years, most communities in the United States have developed sophisticated emergency medical services (EMS) systems that are designed to minimize death and disability from a variety of medical conditions. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) account for the majority of life-threatening, nontraumatic, community emergencies affecting adults. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the pathophysiology and epidemiology of SCD and AMI, and to review the ways in which the EMS system design and function can maximize survival from these conditions.