The Villages Regional Hospital’s Emergency Department and Heart Center is working alongside first responders to deliver high-quality cardiovascular care, hospital officials say.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 730,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. The most common symptom of a heart attack for both men and women is chest pain or discomfort.
Women, however, are more likely to have atypical symptoms. Other heart attack symptoms include but are not limited to: tingling or discomfort in one or both arms, back, shoulder, neck or jaw; shortness of breath; cold sweat; unusual tiredness; heartburn-like feeling; nausea or vomiting; sudden dizziness; and fainting.
ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a full-blown heart attack resulting from the complete blockage of a heart artery. A major medical emergency, STEMI patients require immediate intervention and treatment. Due to the heart muscle damage caused by this attack, every minute from the onset of a heart attack is extremely critical.
Two years ago, TVRH recognized the need to invest in staff and technology that would enhance the hospital’s ability to respond effectively to STEMI patients in The Villages and surrounding areas.
Clinical providers played a key role in the process, and as a result, the hospital recruited additional board-certified cardiologists to the area. Nurses, cardiovascular technologists and other front-line care providers received special training in STEMI care. And the hospital upgraded its telecommunication system linkages to local ambulance services to enable Emergency Department physicians to receive EKG results from the field 15 to 45 minutes in advance of the patient’s arrival at the hospital to conclusively confirm their diagnosis and activate the STEMI response.
In 2017, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) recognized TVRH and its sister facility, Leesburg Regional Medical Center, for demonstrated expertise and commitment in treating patients with chest pain. Each hospital was awarded the highest level of ACC Certification (Chest Pain Center Accreditation with Primacy PCI and Resuscitation) based on a rigorous onsite evaluation by the outside accreditation agency of the staff’s ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack.
Hospitals that have earned ACC Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and Resuscitation Accreditation have proven exceptional competency in treating patients with heart attack symptoms and have primary percutaneous coronary intervention (coronary angioplasty) available 24/7 every day of the year.
According to the American College of Cardiology’s website, only TVRH has obtained this level of certification in its Sumter and Marion county service area.
“The achievement of this prestigious accreditation not only represents our clinical care team’s commitment to excellence but also their unwavering dedication to improving heart and vascular care for our local residents and their families,” said Don Henderson, President and CEO of Central Florida Health, the not-for-profit parent company of TVRH and Leesburg Regional Medical Center.
Hospital officials say another key indicator of a successful STEMI program is maintaining low door-to-open vessel times. This is a representation, in minutes, of the amount of time it takes from the instant a heart attack patient arrives at the hospital to the moment the blocked artery, or vessel, is unclogged.
From Sept. 1, 2017 through Aug. 31, 2018, the average door-to-open vessel time at TVRH was 61.5 minutes. Current guidelines for the treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction recommend a door-to-open vessel time of 90 minutes or less for patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).
“In one recent instance, our door-to-open vessel time was 21 minutes,” said Addy Ramos-Krebs, director of invasive/non-invasive cardiology at TVRH. “That is a career best during my extensive experience in cardiac nursing leadership. We have a superb team in the Heart Center – it all boils down to great teamwork.”
The Villages Regional Hospital includes a 307-bed acute care hospital that has more than tripled in size since opening in 2002. The hospital is also certified as a Primary Stroke Care Center. Other services offered include advanced orthopedic care at its dedicated Inpatient Joint Replacement Institute, robotic surgery, spine surgery and inpatient acute rehabilitation at the 30-bed TVRH Rehabilitation Hospital located on the fifth floor of the facility’s North Tower.
