If you’re going to suffer a serious cardiovascular event such as a heart attack, an aneurysm or a stroke, it would be best to have it on a weekday rather than a weekend. The so-called “weekend effect” increases the risk of dying. A new study of over 13,000 bleeding stroke victims found that those admitted on weekends were 12 percent more likely to die from their brain hemorrhage than those admitted on weekdays. This is presumably because there are fewer specialists on duty over the weekend. Perhaps it is time for hospitals to reconsider their staffing patterns so that patients have access to the best possible care regardless of when they suffer a heart attack or stroke.
[Stroke, July, 2009]
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/40/7/2387
