As soon as a heart attack occurs, the heart muscle begins to die, which is why reducing the time in which the patient gets treatment is vital for their long-term recovery. When an artery is blocked there are two ways to restore blood flow to heart muscle - administering drugs to destroy any blockage or a procedure called angioplasty in which a tiny balloon is inflated at the site to re-open the blood vessel. Irrespective of the method employed to open the blocked artery, the critical issue regarding the treatment’s success is the time from the onset of the attack to the time when the artery is opened. A recent study revealed that for the most serious form of heart attack, known as ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI), timely administration of emergency angioplasty affected a person’s chance of surviving.* Overall the researchers concluded that at one year follow-up, every 30 minute delay in giving emergency angioplasty caused the risk of a patient dying to rise by 7.5%. As a result, the American College of Cardiology, in partnership with the American Heart Association and others around the world, launched the ‘Door to Balloon’ (D2B) campaign. Its aim: to reduce the elapsed time from the arrival of the victim at the hospital to angioplasty to 90 minutes or less. As the doctors and hospitals can only control the process once the patient arrives at their door, it is critical that the emergency department shortens the time from arrival at their doors to the time of treatment. The Philips ‘Discovery to Treatment’ solution is a combination of products that can help clinicians meet the 90 minute ‘Door to Balloon’ (D2B) target and is so complete that it covers ambulance services, primary care centers and even the cath lab. The HeartStart MRx Monitor/Defibrillator means the D2B process can commence before the patient even arrives at the emergency department. The 12-lead device enables paramedics to transmit diagnostic quality ECG data showing the electrical activity of the patient’s heart over time from the ambulance to a hospital’s emergency department. Upon reception at the hospital, clinicians can use the ECG data to begin assessing what treatment the incoming patient will need. By allowing a hospital to begin organizing its resources prior to the patient’s arrival, the MRx can help reduce the time to treatment. In addition to transmitting ECG data to the hospital prior to the patients’ arrival, the MRx integrates seamlessly with a hospital’s ECG management system, TraceMasterVue (TMV), enabling critical patient information to be seen where it is needed – even in the cath lab. In the case where an acute coronary syndrome is discovered in a small hospital or primary care centre where a procedure to unblock the artery cannot be performed, but the hospital is connected to a larger hospital’s TMV ECG management system, the ECG that was taken with a regular cardiograph can easily be forwarded to the new center for decision making and cath lab preparation. Once data is received, the Xper FD10 imaging equipment in the cath lab can be prepared in advance to help clinicians pinpoint issues in the heart and confidently plan and execute interventional procedure. Throughout the patient’s time in the hospital the Philips Intellivue monitor continually monitors the patient’s vital signs and accompanies them on their journey and the Philips CVIS informatics solution ensures clinicians have rapid access to the seamless sharing of vital information at every stage of the patient’s care in the hospital. * De Luca G, Suryapranata H, Ottervanger JP, Antman EM., “Time delay to treatment and mortality in primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction: every minute of delay counts”. Circulation, 2004 Mar 16; 109(10):1223-5. Selected quote: “These results suggest that every minute of delay in primary angioplasty for STEMI affects 1-year mortality, even after adjustment for baseline characteristics. Therefore, all efforts should be made to shorten the total ischemic time, not only for thrombolytic therapy but also for primary angioplasty.” |