Rapid Response to Chest Pain Symptoms Critical to Successful Heart Attack Treatment
Heart Attack Deaths Peak in December

Patients wait too long after the onset of heart attack symptoms before seeking medical care, according to the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. Even with advances at hospitals, patients must still quickly recognize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack and take the first step toward getting help — particularly in December and January when heart attack deaths peak.

Accredited Chest Pain Centers, such as Rush University Medical Center, are especially well-prepared to respond quickly to a person experiencing chest pains.To become accredited by the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care, hospitals must meet or exceed a wide set of stringent criteria and demonstrate commitment to reducing the time it takes to receive treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment in a coordinated process that can save lives.

In 2009, Rush became the first academic medical center in Chicago to earn the accreditation and was recently reaccredited.

One of the criteria for accreditation is to significantly reduce the time it takes for a patient experiencing symptoms of a possible heart attack to see a physician, thus reducing the time to treatment during the critical early stages when treatments are most effective. In addition, hospitals must create more effective systems to get patients into the catheterization lab so a blocked coronary artery can be opened in the shortest amount of time.

Another goal is to provide a specialized observation setting where physicians are better able to monitor patients when it is not clear whether they are having a heart attack. Such observation ensures that a patient is neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted to the inpatient unit.

Read the entire news release.

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