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Case Studies
Myocardial Infarction
THE PATIENT:
- 62-year-old male
- Experienced chest discomfort. Took an antacid tablet but experienced no relief. Then experienced profuse sweating.
- His wife dialed 9-1-1.
THE REFERRAL:
- EMT Matt Keiper and paramedic Steph Burke of Cetronia Ambulance diagnosed myocardial infarction with a 12-lead EKG. They reported their findings to Lehigh Valley Hospital–Cedar Crest emergency department colleagues and transported the patient.
- Emergency medicine physician Mark Guzzo, M.D., activated the hospital’s MI Alert for Heart Attacks while emergency and cardiac specialists prepared for the man’s arrival.
THE WORK-UP:
- Upon arrival, emergency medicine physician Marna Greenberg, D.O., confirmed the diagnosis and facilitated treatment and transport to the cardiac catheterization lab.
- In the cath lab, cardiologist Nainesh Patel, M.D., found the patient’s left anterior descending artery 100 percent blocked.
THE TREATMENT:
- Patel performed angioplasty to open the artery and placed two metal stents into the artery to keep it open.
- Treatment was completed in 24 minutes from emergency department arrival, nearly one hour earlier than the “gold standard” of 90 minutes.
THE PROGNOSIS:
- Patient was walking the day after treatment.
- Patient returned home in four days.
- Patient has returned to his full-time business.
THE TEAM:
- Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network is committed to fast and appropriate care for myocardial infarction through its MI Alert for Heart Attacks program, a partnership between emergency medicine and cardiac specialists.
- MI Alert for Heart Attacks exceeds the gold standard of 90 minutes or less in 83 percent of cases compared to the national average of 55 percent and the Pa. average of 49 percent.
- Data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) shows Lehigh Valley Hospital has the lowest heart attack mortality rates among the 4,000 U.S. hospitals that provide heart attack care.
This page last updated 10/13/08 02:12 PM
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