September - 2010Carlinville Area Hospital joins forces to offer fast heart attack help
Rapid Interventional Treatment is the best way to treat a heart attack, and Carlinville Area Hospital (CAH) is now in a position to offer that swift intervention. The hospital has teamed up with the Prairie Stat Heart Program and the Springfield Clinic Stat MI Program to insure that patients suffering from the worst type of heart attack will receive emergency heart care as fast as patients receive such care in larger urban areas.
The goal of the Stat Heart/MI Program is to provide angioplasty (a non-surgical procedure in which a balloon is used to open diseased arteries) within 90 minutes from a patient’s arrival at CAH. Immediately upon diagnosing a patient with a major heart attack, the Stat Heart team is called and the system is activated. The Stat Heart team at CAH is led by experienced ER physicians and nurses and consists of staff from multiple other departments in the hospital.
Carlinville Area Hospital strives to meet the necessary door-to-balloon time (the time the patient arrives at CAH until the patient has been ballooned) to ensure the least amount of heart damage. All the staff have been trained to assist in the rapid management of the patient. Transportation, either by helicopter or ambulance, is quickly arranged; the cardiologist is called; and medications are given to manage the patient’s pain and assist the heart in functioning more efficiently. The patient is quickly on his or her way to St. John’s or Memorial Medical Center in Springfield and taken directly to the cardiac cath lab. Blood flow is restored to the blocked artery by angioplasty, thus minimizing damages to the affected heart muscle. On average, CAH patients are out the door and on their way in 44 minutes. At the present time, 15 patients diagnosed with potentially deadly heart attacks have benefitted from their chest pain care at CAH.
John B. VanHuss of Virden has made clear that the swift and excellent care he received at Carlinville Area Hospital was the secret weapon in his fight to survive when he was hit by a heart attack in April of 2008. VanHuss was stricken while turkey hunting in rural Palmyra. The intensity of his sudden pain and shortness of breath let him know he needed help. A call to Dunn’s Ambulance and a quick ride to CAH was just the first step on a frightening, but life-saving journey. “Upon my arrival at Carlinville Area Hospital, I was treated promptly,” said Van Huss. “The emergency room physician gave me a shot called a clot buster and within minutes I was on my way to Memorial Medical Center in Springfield for further care.”
VanHuss also related that the cardiologist who treated him in Springfield approved of the care he was given at CAH. “In recovery,” said VanHuss, “the cardiologist who treated me informed my family and me that the physician at Carlinville Area Hospital had made a very smart decision in administering the clot buster drug. It had broken up the clot that had created my heart attack and there were only particles left. The care that I received at the emergency room at Carlinville Area Hospital helped save my life.” Van Huss also expressed gratitude for the thoughtfulness of the emergency room staff at CAH who called his wife to keep her informed of his condition and status.
Heart disease is one of the leading killers of both women and men in the United States. Delay in treating a heart attack reduces the chance of survival. Symptoms of a heart attack include discomfort, pressure, heaviness, or pain in the chest, arm or below the sternum; discomfort radiating to the back, jaw, throat or arm; fullness, indigestion or a choking feeling; profuse sweating, nausea, vomiting or dizziness; extreme weakness, fatigue, anxiety or shortness of breath; rapid irregular heartbeat. A person may experience one or more of these symptoms in any combination when having a heart attack. Anyone experiencing these symptoms should not delay calling 911 and getting to the local hospital as quickly as possible.
Posted: 10/14/2008
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