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Coronary heart disease is one of the biggest killers in the UK (Department of Health, 2000), with myocardial infarction accounting for the largest proportion of admissions to acute hospitals. In an era in which the speed of initiation of treatment is paramount in terms of achieving maximum potential benefit, the reasons for delay in seeking medical assistance remain poorly understood. Utilizing an interpretive approach informed by phenomenology, this exploratory study describes and analyses the process of help seeking in terms of the experience of patients from the onset of symptoms to seeking medical assistance. A total of 10 patients with confirmed myocardial infarction were interviewed within 6 days of hospital admission. From the data, it was possible to identify four headings under which to categorize factors which might influence delay in help seeking, namely symptoms, cognitive evaluation of symptoms, behavioural response to symptoms, and the influence of others present during the experience. A model of help seeking is proposed which explains the interrelationship between the categories, describes the patient experience, and suggests the process by which individuals may come to seek medical assistance. It is recommended that interventions that will influence cognitive evaluation of symptoms, and the behavioural response to symptoms, should be further explored in order to expedite the process of help seeking in acute myocardial infarction.
