September 27, 2012

St.Vincent receives American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline Bronze Quality Achievement Award for heart attack care

INDIANAPOLIS — St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana has received the American Heart Association's (AHA) Mission: Lifeline® Bronze Quality Achievement Award. The award recognizes the faith-based hospital's commitment and success in implementing a high standard of care for heart attack patients.

Each year in the United States, nearly 300,000 people have a STEMI, or ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, the most severe form of heart attack. A STEMI occurs when a blood clot completely blocks an artery to the heart. To prevent death, it is critical to restore blood flow immediately, either by surgically opening the blocked vessel or by giving clot-busting medication.

Hospitals involved in Mission: Lifeline are part of a system that makes sure STEMI patients receive the right care they need, as quickly as possible. Mission: Lifeline focuses on improving the system of care for these patients and at the same time improving care for all heart attack patients.

"St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana and St.Vincent Medical Group are proud to be recognized by the AHA for this achievement," said Dr. Edward Fry, chairman, cardiology division, St.Vincent Medical Group. "Developing local, regional and statewide systems of care for patients with acute myocardial infarction in need of timely, effective and life-saving emergent treatment has been a focus of the Cardiology Program at St.Vincent for more than three decades. The opportunity to partner with the AHA's Mission: Lifeline initiative and other healthcare systems throughout the state has allowed us to bring that expertise to more communities across the state."

As a "STEMI Receiving Hospital," St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana meets high standards of performance in quick and appropriate treatment of STEMI patients to open blocked arteries. Before discharge, patients are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta-blockers (drugs to decrease high blood pressure), and patients receive smoking cessation counseling if needed. Hospitals must adhere to these guidelines-based measures at a set level for a designated period of time to be eligible for the achievement awards.

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St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana
St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana (SVHCI) is one heart-specialty program offered at two locations: 106th Street and North Meridian, and on the campus of St.Vincent Indianapolis Hospital at 86th Street. The physician teams at both campuses are comprised of the cardiologists, electrophysiologists and surgeons of St.Vincent Medical Group (formerly The Care Group and CorVasc). SVHCI specializes in interventional cardiology, cardiac catheterization, cardiac surgery, vascular medicine, thoracic procedures, transplants, Ventricular Assist Devices (VADs) and diagnostic testing for cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular issues. The program is home to the ACS/PCI/Indiana Heart Attack Network (IHAN)/Stent Center of Excellence; A-Fib Center of Excellence; Pediatric Cardiology Center of Excellence; Valve Center of Excellence; and Vascular Center of Excellence. Other programs and services include: the $49 HeartScan of Indiana; 24/7 Heart Emergency Unit; Women's Cardiac Risk Clinic; and The Sleep Center of Indiana. St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana has been named by HealthGrades as number one in Indiana for seven years in a row (2006 – 2012) for cardiology and coronary interventional procedures and in the top five percent of all hospitals in the U.S. for overall cardiac services, cardiology and coronary interventional procedures for seven years in a row (2006 – 2012). It is also a Thomson Reuters 50 Top Cardiovascular Hospitals, and an Accredited Chest Pain Center.

About Mission: Lifeline
The American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline program helps hospitals and emergency medical services develop systems of care that follow proven standards and procedures for STEMI patients. The program works by mobilizing teams across the continuum of care to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology clinical treatment guidelines.  For more information, visit heart.org/missionlifeline and heart.org/quality.

Jen Dial
St.Vincent Health
Public Relations Consultant
(317) 583-4031
jkdial@stvincent.org