Reducing 'Middle Management' in Treatment of Heart Attacks Saves Lives

Newswise — One thing is commonly known in the treatment of major heart attacks " time saves lives in this deadly game of beat the clock. Two cardiac specialists from Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa., have found a way to more than cut in half the amount of time that it takes for a patient to get from the helicopter door to the catheterization table.

Geisinger cardiologists Dr. James Blankenship and Dr. Thomas Haldis collaborated on research regarding primary angioplasty that shows how they reduced the treatment time for a heart attack patient from 91 minutes to 32 minutes. The physicians are presenting their findings Sunday, March 6, at the American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session 2005 in Orlando, Fla.

"This research is significant because the longer the heart attack is untreated, the more heart muscle dies," says Dr. Blankenship.

"We have eliminated 'middle management' in the heart attack treatment process - meaning that we have empowered ER physicians to diagnose an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and call out the catheterization team. We have an interventional cardiologist on call 24/7, 365 days a year - so we can move the patient through the hospital faster. In many cases, Geisinger Medical Center receives the referred AMI patient right at the cardiac catheterization lab." In rural central Pennsylvania " like many rural areas across the nation " patients being treated for AMI with angioplasty often must be transferred. Geisinger's research shows that delays from the onset of heart attack symptoms to the time of treatment were not the result of transit time as commonly thought, even when patients were transferred long distances. The delays were due to time spent waiting for a team of physicians to be contacted and informed of the diagnosis and treatment recommendation.

"A concise AMI decision-making roadmap empowers the ER physician to take action. By following the AMI roadmap, the time from arrival at our hospital to the opening of the artery has been reduced by more than 50 percent - from 91 minutes to 32 minutes," says Dr. Haldis. "And opening the blocked artery earlier leads to more lives saved."

Geisinger is a comprehensive, physician-led health care system consisting of a tertiary medical center with the nation's first rural children's hospital, an adult and pediatric trauma center, a community and secondary referral medical center, a nationally acclaimed alcohol and chemical dependency treatment center, heart institute, cancer institute, neuro-sciences program, 42 community practice offices and one of the largest not-for-profit rural HMOs in the country. The Geisinger mission is to enhance quality of life through an integrated health service organization based on a balanced program of patient care, education, research and community service. The health system's motto is: Heal. Teach. Discover. Serve.