Emergency Angioplasty Reduces Rate of Deaths by Heart Attack

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} Oceanside , NY – A study of patients experiencinga heart attack showed that those who were treated with balloon angioplastywithin 90 minutes after they arrived at the hospital had a higher rate ofsurvival than those who waited more than 90 minutes to receive the procedure. The study, conductedby researchers for the National Cardiovascular Data Registry , wasbased on 43,801 heart attack patients who had undergone balloon angioplastywithin 12 hours after the onset of the attack.   The average time patients waited before being treated was 83 minutes,with 58 % of the patients receiving treatment within the medically recommended90-minute door-to-balloon time benchmark. The overall death rate ofpatients in the study was 4.6%.   Thedeath rate for patients treated within 30 minutes was 3% as compared to 10.3%among patients who waited 270 minutes or more.   T he study also found that patients whowaited longer to receive balloon angioplasty had more co- existing health problems,such as diabetes, obesity and high cholesterol, than patients who were treatedsooner. The study’soutcome concurs with the American Heart Association (AHA) finding that thetimely delivery of appropriate treatments, such as angioplasty or thrombolysis,is a reason for the nationwide reduction of deaths caused by heart attack. South Nassau Communities Hospital consistentlyachieves a door-to-balloon-time of less than 80 minutes, with 90% of its patients receiving angioplasty treatment within 90 minutes.   As a result of its standard-setting treatmentof heart attack, South Nassau earned the prestigiousSilver Performance Award for coronary artery disease in 2008 from the AmericanHeart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With the Guidelines SM (GWTG) program, whichmeasures hospitals’ compliance with best-practice clinical guidelines incardiac and stroke patient care. Additional factorscited by the AHA that have contributed to the decline include the establishmentof guidelines for the treatment and prevention of heart attacks andimprovements in medications and in technology. South Nassau ’s Center forCardiovascular Health is built on the combination of advanced technologies,timely delivery of patient-centered treatments, and best practices.   The Center is equipped with the latestadvancements in cardiac digital imaging systems and performs a wide range of coronaryand peripheral interventional procedures, including angioplasty, stenting, and thrombolytictherapy. “We established the Center to meet the pressing need foradvanced interventional cardiology services in Nassau County ,where the impact of cardiovascular disease grows by the day,” said JasonFreeman, MD, FACC, director ofinterventional cardiology. LawrenceKanner, MD, FACC, directorof electrophysiology and arrhythmia services, and the Center’s staff ofelectrophysiologists use advanced technologies to provide timely, accurate diagnoses and therapies totreat the range of cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) anddefibrillator complications.   Servicesinclude diagnostic studies, implantation and testing of pacemakers andimplantable cardioverter defibrillators, and radio-frequency catheter ablationfor the treatment of potentially fatal irregular heartbeats. Frank Pollaro, MD, FACC, director of cardiovascular imaging, and the Center’s cardiacimaging specialists are well-versed in nuclear cardiology (which generatesimages of the heart at work, during exercise, and at rest), echocardiogram via the trans-thoracic method (a non-invasive,highly accurate and quick assessment of the overall health of the heart inwhich a probe is placed on the chest wall of the patient to produce images ofthe heart), and transesophagealechocardiogram ( which uses a specializedprobe containing an ultrasound transducer at its tip that is passed into the esophagus and is used to provide clear views of areas of the heart that would bedifficult to view transthoracically). The Center’s cardiac imaging services also includestress echocardiogram ( which involves exercising on a treadmill orstationary bicycle while the patient is monitored by technology usinghigh-frequency sound waves that produces a graphic outline of the heart'smovement, valves, and chambers) anddiagnostic peripheral vascular ultrasound ( noninvasive diagnostictechnique used to evaluate the health of blood vessels) for patients with peripheral arterial disease. “In the event you,a loved one or friend need expert, advanced, potentially life-saving cardiaccare, you need look no further than your own neighborhood,” said Dr. Freeman.   “Our team of experienced cardiologists andspecially trained nursing staff use the most advanced techniques and medicaltechnologies to treat life-threatening diseases of the heart 24 hours a day, 7days a week.” South Nassau Communities Hospital is one of the region’slargest hospitals, with 435 beds, more than 875 physicians and 2,600employees.   Located in Oceanside , NY ,the hospital is an acute-care, not-for-profit teaching hospital that providesstate-of-the-art care in cardiac, oncologic, orthopedic, bariatric, painmanagement, mental health and emergency services.   In addition to its extensive outpatientspecialty centers, South Nassau is a designated Stroke Center , boasts Long Island ’s first and only Gamma Knife â and provides emergencyas well as elective coronary and peripheral angioplasty .   South Nassau is designated as a Comprehensive Community Cancer Center by the American College of Surgeons and is recognized asa Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence by the American Society of BariatricSurgery.   For more information, visit www.southnassau.org .

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