A new system to treat heart attacks

Scott & White has launched a new way to treat heart attacks that:

• Reduces the amount of time that elapses from the start of a heart attack to the point when balloon angioplasty is used to clear blocked arteries,
• Standardizes the transfer of heart attack patients from EMS and other medical responders to Scott & White as soon as possible, and
• Saves lives

Scott & White is the only hospital in Central Texas to set up a system for responding to heart attacks that can shave precious minutes off the time it takes to get the patient into a cardiac catheterization lab for balloon angioplasty and open clogged arteries in 90 minutes or less.

This initiative involves identifying patients with ST-segment myocardial infarction (STEMI), and transferring the patient to Scott & White's cardiac catheterization facility for balloon angioplasty to open clogged arteries in 90 minutes or less.

What is STEMI?

An ST-elevation myocardial infarction occurs when a heart attack has been caused by a complete blockage of one of three main arteries that bring blood and oxygen to the heart. A characteristic of this type of heart attack is the indicator of ST-elevation in the ECG heart monitor.

Community effort

The key to this system is communication from the EMT or emergency room that first treats the patient, who then notifies a Scott & White emergency medicine doctor. That action alerts the STEMI team, made up of cardiologists, the cardiac catheterization lab, and other support staff, who will then be waiting to treat the patient on arrival.

A 45-mile radius from Temple is used for bringing STEMI patients here to be treated.

Scott & White is in the top level of response times in the nation for treating emergency heart patients, according to published data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and quality improvement organizations, such as the National Cardiovascular Data Registry and the Joint Commission.

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