Half of NZ Heart Attack Victims Not Treated Within Accepted Timeframes: Study

New Zealand has only a third of the cardiologists it needs, and a charity head says people are dying as a result of inadequate care.

Code blue team resuscitating a patient. spakadet2/Depositphotos

A shortage of cardiologists means that half of all New Zealand heart attack patients aren’t being treated within internationally accepted timeframes, a new study by Otago University has found.

The country has just a third of the number of cardiologists it needs, leading to significant backlogs in patient waiting lists.