Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) is a sudden loss of blood supply to an area of the heart, causing permanent heart damage or death. There are different types of AMI, classified by the location of the actual event in the heart (e.g., inferior wall vs. anterior wall) or the type of changes seen on an electrocardiogram (ST elevation or non-ST elevation).

The goal of AMI intervention consistently implement protocols for heart attack patients that are known to reduce complications and deaths. Canada is a leader in establishing and disseminating standards of care in cardiology resulting in the reduction of harm or adverse events. Close to 75 per cent of all participating hospitals were administering ASA on arrival and prescribing ASA, Beta Blockers and ACE inhibitors at discharge to 90 per cent of their AMI patients – an indication of how well entrenched these indicators are in the cardiology communities across the country. Teams administering thrombolytic agents within 30 minutes of arrival in 90 per cent of their patients reached only 7.3 per cent at baseline, whereas over 42 per cent of the teams had met the goal after implementing the Safer Healthcare Now! intervention. The percentage of teams providing counseling for smoking cessation to all eligible patients increased from 40 to almost 85 per cent in Phase 1.