A national push to avert delays in heart attack treatment has sharply increased the percentage of people who get prompt care, a study shows. In 2005, only about one-half of patients arriving at the hospital with a heart attack underwent angioplasty to unclog their arteries within the recommended time, which is 90 minutes. In 2008, following a national push by the college to get patients into treatment more quickly, 75% of patients received angioplasty within one and a half hours, according to a study published in this month's Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
