Public awareness of early symptoms of acute coronary syndrome and its association with anticipated…

Cross-sectionalFrontiers in public health· 2026

Public awareness of early symptoms of acute coronary syndrome and its association with anticipated prehospital delay: a cross-sectional study in Palestine.

Musab Basem Dwaik, Khaled Alhashlamon, Haya Mustafa … Salahaldeen Deeb

Prehospital & RetrievalCross-sectionalQ1IF 4.0

Only 56.2% would call an ambulance for chest pain lasting over 5 minutes

Public awareness of early symptoms of acute coronary syndrome and its association with anticipated prehospital delay: a cross-sectional study in Palestine.

Musab Basem Dwaik … Salahaldeen Deeb

Frontiers in public health · 2026

Background

Timely recognition of acute coronary syndrome (acute coronary syndrome) symptoms is critical for early intervention and improved outcomes.

Purpose

This study assessed public awareness of acute coronary syndrome symptoms and its association with anticipated prehospital delay in Palestine.

Methods

A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between February and March 2026 among 1,293 Palestinian adults recruited through convenience sampling on social media platforms.

Results

Despite knowing the correct action, under two-thirds said they would actually call for help

OR 1.22 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.48)

CI excludes the null - significant

More results

The mean knowledge score was 7.91 ± 2.96, with 33.1% demonstrating high knowledge.

Higher knowledge was weakly associated with a more appropriate anticipated response ( β = 0.083, p < 0.001), whereas higher cardiovascular risk burden was associated with poorer anticipated response (OR = 1.22, 95% CI 1.01-1.48).

More results

Females had higher knowledge scores, while males reported more appropriate anticipated emergency responses.

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Conclusion · 1 of 3

This study identified suboptimal acute coronary syndrome knowledge and a gap between awareness and intended emergency response in an online convenience sample of Palestinian adults.

Conclusion · 2 of 3

Because the behavioral outcome was hypothetical, findings should be interpreted as anticipated response rather than actual prehospital delay.

Conclusion · 3 of 3

Interventions should combine symptom-awareness education with behavior-change strategies that promote immediate emergency medical service activation.

Public awareness of early symptoms of acute coronary syndrome and its association with anticipated prehospital delay: a cross-sectional study in Palestine.

Public awareness of early symptoms of acute coronary syndrome and its association with anticipated prehospital delay: a cross-sectional study in Palestine.

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