The Heart Institute of Doylestown Hospital is among the best in the nation for rapidly and effectively stopping a heart attack in progress with emergency angioplasty. Patients entering the Emergency Department (ED) who are found to be having a heart attack are quickly taken to the cath lab, where this life-saving procedure is performed. Should the patient require emergency open-heart surgery, a full cardiac surgical team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Angioplasty is Best
Major studies in the 1990s established the superiority of emergency angioplasty over clot-busting drugs (also called thrombolytic drugs) for heart attack victims arriving at hospital emergency rooms. Clot-busting drugs dissolve blood clots that block an artery, opening the artery and restoring blood flow. However, these studies showed that clot-busting drugs are only about 60 percent reliable in opening blocked arteries, while angioplasty is in the 90-95 percent range.
Get Me to the ED on Time!
When a heart attack strikes, minutes matter. According to national standards, heart attack victims with a blocked artery should have an angioplasty within 90 minutes of arriving at the ED -- and they should arrive at the ED as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms. With quick action, there is less damage to the heart muscle, fewer complications, and faster recovery. And less heart damage means better quality of life after the heart attack.
Medical experts measure the quality of heart attack care with a statistic labeled "Door-to-Balloon" time: the number of minutes it takes from the time a heart attack patient enters the emergency room until an angioplasty balloon is inflated in the cath lab, opening the blocked artery and ending the heart attack. Doylestown Hospital's Door-to-Balloon time is consistently superior to national averages, and well below the suggested benchmark of 90 minutes. For the latest Core Measures, download our Heart Attack Care Quality Report.
Know the Warning Signs of a Heart Attack
Warning signs of a heart attack can be different for men and women, but there is one common truth for everyone: If you think you're having a heart attack, call 911 or go to the Emergency Department of the nearest hospital immediately.
Men Pressure, squeezing, or discomfort in the center of the chest that spreads to the neck, shoulder, or jaw. Chest pain described above is sometimes accompanied by lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea, or shortness of breath.
Women It's surprising how many women have heart attacks without ever realizing it. It's because their symptoms can be subtle and confused with stress, fatigue or just not feeling well. Women often dismiss the early signs of heart attacks as stress, fatigue or just not feeling well. As a result, many have heart attacks without ever realizing it.
Unless a woman has crushing chest pain, she may not call the doctor or seek urgent medical attention. As with stroke, however, prompt medical care for cardiac symptoms is critical.
The longer someone goes without treatment after symptoms begin, the more damage there is to the heart. This can lead to future serious conditions such as congestive heart failure and increased risk of death. I tell all of my patients to call right away if they experience any new or unusual symptoms.
All women, regardless of risk, should know the symptoms of heart attack.
Symptoms of Heart Attack:
- Pain or pressure in chest that may last more than a few minutes or diminish and return - Pain or tightness that spreads to the back, neck, shoulder, jaws and arms - Shortness of breath
Women May Also Experience:
- Fatigue, sweating or nausea - Trouble sleeping or anxiety
