UVA Health honored for care for patients with heart attack – CBS19 News

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Two national organizations have recognized the University of Virginia Health System for its care for patients suffering heart attacks.

According to a release, the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology honored the hospital with national awards for meeting national standards for providing quality and quick care for such patients.

"Our multidisciplinary team begins preparing to care for heart attack patients even before they arrive to the hospital, then works with patients during their hospital stay and after they head home to assist them in their recovery," said Lawrence Gimple, MD, the director of clinical cardiology at the UVA Heart and Vascular Center. "I'm proud to be part of a team that is always available to provide the care our patients need."

Part of that care begins with the local rescue squads, which have developed an alert system with UVA to notify the hospital when they are transporting a patient suffering an ST-elevated myocardial infarction, or STEMI, which is a serious type of heart attack.

This allows care providers to begin treatment as soon as the patient arrives at the hospital.

The UVA Chest Pain Center, which is located inside the hospital's Emergency Department, lets patients who may be suffering a heart attack be quickly diagnoses and get care from a team that is made up of emergency medicine physicians, pharmacists, and cardiologists.

Those who are treated for heart attack are then scheduled for a follow-up appointment at the UVA Heart Attack Recovery Clinic one week after they are discharged, and they will work with a cardiologist, an exercise physiologist, a pharmacist, and a dietician to plan their recovery.

There are several national standards the hospital met, including opening blocked arteries within 90 minutes for patients having a STEMI, ensuring all recommended medications are prescribed when patients leave the hospital, referring patients to an outpatient heart rehabilitation program, testing patients' heart function before they are discharged from the hospital, and counseling patients on how to quit smoking if applicable.

The American Heart Association honored UVA with the Lifeline Gold NSTEMI award, while the American College of Cardiology awarded it the NCDR Chest pain - MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award.

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UVA Health honored for care for patients with heart attack - CBS19 News