Inspira Health Network

Help for Broken Hearts A "Firsthand" Look at Heart Attack Care happen when a patient arrives at the ER with symptoms of a heart attack: • Staff should quickly determine that the patient is likely having a heart attack; • A page should be made, alerting the radiology and lab staff to spring into action; • An EKG should be performed within minutes; and blood work should be performed STAT; • The ER physician should examine the patient; • Clot-busting medication should be administered (when appropriate); • Patient should be transferred if highly specialized care is needed. Becky DelFava knows exactly what should Comprehensive Care for Chest Pain Chest Pain Centers are regarded as safe and cost effective in diagnosing and treating patients with acute cardiac symptoms. South Jersey Healthcare Regional Medical Center is accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Centers, which indicates the facility meets or exceeds measures to improve cardiac care, allowing staff to aggressively treat emergencies when a patient experiencing chest pain arrives. "One requirement of a Chest Pain Center is to perform an electrocardiogram within 10 minutes, and we work to surpass that standard," said Matt Warner, M.D., emergency medicine physician and medical director of the Chest Pain Center at SJH Regional Medical Center. "We exceed standards in some areas and we're never satisfied; we always do everything we can to improve patient outcomes in our area. As a community-based hospital, we are dedicated to providing people with the best care possible." 4 SPRING 2012 taken, but they must occur within a prescribed timeframe. As a quality improvement manager and former ER nurse, DelFava was quite aware of these steps when she arrived at the SJH Regional Medical Center ER with symptoms of a heart attack. She also knew the importance of taking an aspirin upon recognizing that she might be experiencing a heart attack. This simple step may have saved her life and definitely helped minimize damage to her heart. DelFava also knew that she should call 911 Not only does each of these steps need to be immediately, but human nature got the best of her, and she delayed calling for about 20 minutes. She and her doctors realize that she would likely have suffered even less heart damage had she called for help 20 minutes sooner. Fortunately for DelFava, all of the critical steps were followed once she arrived at the ER. The preliminary diagnosis, diagnostic tests, administration of a clot-busting drug and, in her case, helicopter transport to a facility that could provide the needed intervention all went as planned. Today, DelFava is back at work with a renewed commitment to help others understand the risk factors and early warning signs of heart disease and heart attacks. "I ignored the almost constant fatigue that I felt for nearly a year," said DelFava. "I blamed it on my extremely busy lifestyle, which included a demanding job, graduate-level school and a serious workout routine. Had I talked with my doctor, we probably would have figured this out before I had a myocardial infarction (heart attack)." SJH Family & Friends

• Cover