Background & Objective: Myocardial infarction is a comman cause in hospitalized patients with mortality rate of about 30%. Ontime diagnosis, earlier management and simply (time) factor have very important role in effective treatment, prevention of progression of injury and improvement of prognosis in the patients. Nearly 60% of mortality in this disease is in the first hour after onset of symptoms. Therefore this study was done to evaluate the refferal process, admission and hospitalization in patients with myocardial in farction at Buali hospital Ardabil.

  Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was done on 77 patients with primary diagnosis of acute myocardial infarction based on clinical findings and ECG changes in the form of 1mm ST segment elevation in two adjacent leads or new LBBB or LBBB with unknown onest. Fourteen subjects were excluded from the study based on subsequent examination of continuous ECG and enzymatic evidence rulling out the presence of MI. Data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics.

  Results: Referral time of patients after onset of symptom was 6.72 ± 5.53 hours. 73.02% of the patients referred with delay (90 minutes after onset of symptom). Mean referral time after onset of symptoms was 7.15±7.07 hours, 60.32% of the patients were outpatients, 34.92% were samples referred by other medical centers and 4.76% by emergency service in the latter group there was no delay in referring time. Mean admission time from emergency room to CCU was 1.04±0.94 hours. 47.62% of the patients underwent thrombolytic therapy with stereptokinase. In this group mean time from entrance to emergency until beginning thrombolytic therapy (Door to Needle time) was 1.22±0.34 houre.

  Conclusion: Because earlier beginning of thromolytic therapy had important role in decreasing mortality and morbidity in patients with myocardial infarction, we can increase survival rate in these patients by recognizing factors delaying, admission and earlier initiation of treatment.