A stroke is a true emergency that needs to be treated immediately in a hospital. In the United States alone, approximately 500,000 people per year succumb to heart attacks.
Clots form at the site of the disrupted plaque and a blockage of a coronary artery can occur.
If the coronary artery is completely blocked, the heart tissue that receives oxygen and nutrients via the artery ceases to function within seconds after a blockage. Over the next three to twelve hours, more irreversible damage occurs. Much clinical experience has shown the benefits of prompt restoration of coronary artery blood flow in patients with acute myocardial infarction. And the earlier the treatment, the better. Patients treated within 90 minutes after onset of chest pain are one-seventh as likely to die compared to those patients who receive therapy after 90 minutes.