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COLUMBUS, Ohio – New technology and a close collaboration with emergency medical service providers is drastically reducing the amount of time it takes for heart attack patients to receive life-saving treatment at Ohio State University Medical Center. Since the initiative began last year, the time it takes patients arriving at the hospital with severe heart attacks to receive specialized care has been reduced by nearly half.

“Anecdotally, we know that for every 15 minute delay in getting the patient with a severe heart attack into the care of an interventional cardiologist results in a much higher risk of in-hospital mortality,” said Dr. Ernest Mazzaferri Jr., director of the regional STEMI program at Ohio State’s Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital. "We’ve totally revamped how we treat heart attack patients arriving at the hospital.”

STEMI, or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, is the most serious form of a heart attack and occurs when a coronary artery suddenly becomes at least partially blocked by a clot, causing the affected heart tissue to die.

As part of the new protocol to treat STEMI patients, emergency medical personnel transporting patients to OSU Medical Center are authorized to bypass the normal triage process in the emergency department. By transporting the patient directly to the Ross’ cardiac catheterization lab, a waiting team of medical specialists can begin treatment immediately.

Hospitals and pre-hospital care providers gauge the success of expediting treatment for critically ill heart patients by measuring “door to balloon time.” Once the patient reaches the hospital, the clock begins ticking until circulation is restored through the vessel, usually with the help of an inflatable balloon-like device that opens the blocked artery.

Since September of last year, STEMI patients brought to the Ross Heart Hospital by emergency squads are having circulation restored in the catheterization lab on the average of 28 minutes after entering the building.

In the past, without advanced intervention in the field and direct communication between the EMS crew and cardiologists, patients were triaged and received treatment in 55 minutes after arrival. Guidelines established by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association recommend a "door-to-balloon" time of 90 minutes or less.

Emergency medical service units in Franklin County have been provided computer modems to facilitate the transmission of electrocardiogram results to cardiologists at the Ross and other hospitals in central Ohio. As part of the protocol, EMS personnel have the authority to call a “STEMI alert” from the field. Broadcasted throughout the Medical Center, the alert activates the Ross’ interventional cardiology team and puts into motion a process that streamlines the care of the incoming patient.

“The new technology available to the EMS crews and enhanced communications are making a critical difference in patients’ survival. said Mazzaferri."

A similar protocol to expedite treatment is being utilized with several hospitals in the central Ohio area that transport heart patients to the Ross Heart Hospital for specialized care.

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