ABSTRACT
Nearly one in every two Americans dies of cardiovascular disease. The 1.1 million acute myocardial infarctions (AMIs) each year in the United States are an important component of cardiovascular disease. Acute myocardial infarction represents a high-cost DRG ($10,428 per Medicare discharge for AMI), which contributes significantly to total cardiovascular expenditures (1). Approximately 400,000 infarct patients are admitted to hospitals each year with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).
