Abstract
Chest pain and acute dyspnoea are frequent causes of emergency medical services activation. The pre-hospital management of these conditions is heterogeneous across different regions of the world and Europe, as a consequence of the variety of emergency medical services and absence of specific practical guidelines. This position paper focuses on the practical aspects of the pre-hospital treatment on board and transfer of patients taken in charge by emergency medical services for chest pain and dyspnoea of suspected cardiac aetiology after the initial assessment and diagnostic work-up. The objective of the paper is to provide guidance, based on evidence, where available, or on experts' opinions, for all emergency medical services' health providers involved in the pre-hospital management of acute cardiovascular care.
Keywords:
Pre-hospital; chest pain; dyspnoea.
MeSH terms
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Acute Coronary Syndrome / complications
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Acute Coronary Syndrome / therapy
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Aortic Dissection / complications
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Aortic Dissection / therapy
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Arrhythmias, Cardiac / complications
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Arrhythmias, Cardiac / therapy
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Cardiac Conduction System Disease / complications
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Cardiac Conduction System Disease / therapy
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Cardiac Tamponade / complications
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Cardiac Tamponade / therapy
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Cardiovascular Diseases / complications
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Cardiovascular Diseases / therapy*
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Chest Pain / etiology
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Chest Pain / therapy*
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Disease Management
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Dyspnea / etiology
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Dyspnea / therapy*
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Electrocardiography
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Emergency Medical Services / methods*
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Europe
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Heart Failure / complications
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Heart Failure / therapy
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Humans
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Patient Transfer
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Pericarditis / complications
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Pericarditis / therapy
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Pulmonary Embolism / complications
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Pulmonary Embolism / therapy
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Risk Assessment
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ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction / complications
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ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction / therapy
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Societies, Medical