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Innovative Treatment for Heart Attack Patients Reaches Milestone

Posted on: Thursday, 6 April 2006, 09:01 CDT

A groundbreaking treatment for heart attack patients developed by a Minnesota hospital has reached a milestone: The Minneapolis Heart Institute(R) at Abbott Northwestern Hospital recently brought the 1,000th patient through its Level 1 Heart Attack Program.

The program was designed to provide heart attack patients from across the state with access to immediate angioplasties--a procedure that unclogs arteries near the heart. Although angioplasty has been shown to be the most effective strategy for treating certain types of heart attacks, only one-third of hospitals have catheterization labs that allow for this type of treatment. The Level 1 Heart Attack Program relies on a network of highly coordinated emergency medical personnel, hospitals and clinics across the state to rapidly diagnose, treat and transport critical patients to Abbott Northwestern's catheterization labs.

When a patient with an acute myocardial infarction arrives at one of the 28 Level 1 hospitals, health care professionals rapidly assess the patient, draw essential lab studies, and give medications such as aspirin, nitroglycerin, heparin and beta blockers. Simultaneously, the transport team--either helicopter or ground--is summoned. A call to the Minneapolis Heart Institute activates a team at Abbott Northwestern to prepare for the patient in the cardiac catheterization lab. Clinical data is faxed while the patient is transported. When the patient and transport team arrive at Abbott Northwestern, they are escorted directly to the cardiac catheterization lab, instead of being transferred to the Emergency Department. A similar process is in place to expedite transfer to the catheterization lab for patients from the Twin Cities area who initially come to Abbott Northwestern's Emergency Department.

"Our goal when we started this program was to give patients the advantage of time by connecting them with the absolute best treatment possible," said Timothy Henry, MD, a cardiologist with the Minneapolis Heart Institute at Abbott Northwestern. "Thanks to the high levels of cooperation and care exhibited by health care facilities and transportation providers throughout the state, we've accomplished our goal and saved many lives."

Since the Level 1 Heart Attack Program launched in 2003 as a pilot study funded by the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, 28 hospitals have joined the network. In addition, Abbott Northwestern staff has helped hospitals in Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas and other states implement similar programs, and a recent article in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology called for a national policy with a coordinated system--similar to the Level Heart Attack Program--for the treatment of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.

A list of Level 1 hospitals follows. For more information about the program, visit www.abbottnorthwestern.com.

Level 1 locations:

-- Riverwood Healthcare Center in Aitkin

-- Douglas County Hospital in Alexandria

-- Sibley Medical Center in Arlington

-- United Hospital District in Blue Earth

-- St. Joseph Medical Center in Brainerd

-- Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville

-- Cambridge Medical Center in Cambridge

-- Cuyuna Regional Medical Center/Central Lakes Medical Clinic in Crosby

-- Rice County District One Hospital in Faribault

-- Glencoe Regional Health Services in Glencoe

-- Itasca Medical Center in Grand Rapids

-- Burnett Medical Center in Grantsburg, Wisc.

-- Hutchinson Area Health Care in Hutchinson

-- Minnesota Valley Health Center in LeSueur

-- Meeker County Memorial

-- Hospital in Litchfield

-- Monticello-Big Lake Community Hospital in Monticello

-- Kanabec Hospital in Mora

-- Stevens Community Medical Center in Morris

-- Queen of Peace Hospital in New Prague

-- New Ulm Medical Center in New Ulm

-- Northfield Hospital in Northfield

-- Renville County Hospital in Olivia

-- St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee

-- Sleepy Eye Medical Center in Sleepy Eye

-- Springfield Medical Center in Springfield

-- Ridgeview Medical Center in Waconia

-- Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmer

Minneapolis-based Abbott Northwestern Hospital is part of Allina Hospitals & Clinics, a non-profit network of hospitals, clinics and other health care services. Abbott Northwestern is found online at www.abbottnorthwestern.com.

Source: Business Wire

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