Who will take informed consent? {26a}
Due to the acute nature of STEMI and the temporarily inability of the patient to provide informed consent in the pre-hospital setting, enrollment will occur as soon as possible and prior to obtaining informed consent. The patient will provide informed consent as soon as possible following the acute initial treatment (including primary PCI), once the patient is clinically stable. The informed consent form (ICF) will be filled out and signed by the patient in the encrypted database program REDCap. In patients with STEMI unable to provide informed consent following primary PCI, consent will be obtained by an independent legally designated representative who will sign the ICF. The legally designated representative consent will be followed by informed consent and signature of the ICF by the patient, once the patient is stable and able to provide consent. If the patient remains unable to provide informed consent three days following admission, the closest relative to the patient and legally designated representative will provide consent on behalf of the patient and sign the ICF as soon as possible. The patient will subsequently provide informed consent as soon as possible. Approval from the authorities can be seen in the “Ethics approval and consent to participate {24}” section.