Physician Quick Search
By Name:
By Specialty:
Featured Physician
Soe Soe Mar, M.D.
Soe Soe Mar, M.D., pediatric neurologist, finds it very rewarding to see children get better with the correct medicines and lifestyle changes.
See All Featured Physicians
Ask the Expert
Fertility for Women with Breast Cancer
I am 34 and recently diagnosed with breast cancer. My doctor said the treatments may affect my fertility. Is egg freezing an option to help preserve my fertility?
See All Entries
Health Update
What is Pulmonary Hypertension?
A correct diagnosis and start on the appropriate treatment for pulmonary hypertension, says Murali Chakinala, MD, head of the pulmonary hypertension treatment center at Washington University.
See All Health Updates
Accepted Insurance
Top Stories
Text Size:
S
M
L
Find a Doctor
Medical Services
Make an Appointment
Contact Numbers for Specialist Appointments
Patient Resources
Contact Numbers for Specialist Appointments
Accepted Health Insurance
Private Health Insurance
Medicare
Medicaid
Online Registration
Patient or Family Member Feedback Form
The Benefits of Academic Medical Centers
Financial Services
Commonly Asked Questions
Office Locations
Patient & Guest Services
Shuttle Services for Patients and Their Families
Patients with Special Needs
Health Library
Your Health Update e-News
At Your Desk Exercise Manager
Are You Fit for Exercise?
Best Doctors in America 2012
Ask the Expert
System.Data.DataRowView
Providers with Highest Patient Satisfaction Rate 2012
For Medical Professionals
Clinical Services - Medical Professionals
Make A Referral
International Referrals
What's New for Physicians
Clinical Trials
Understanding Clinical Trials
Volunteer for Health
Continuing Medical Education Resources
Doctors' Access Line (BJH)
Referring Physician Feedback Form
Health Library
Locations
All Washington University Physician Office Locations
Medical Center Hospitals and Facilities
Center for Advanced Medicine
Barnes-Jewish Hospital
Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital
St Louis Children's Hospital
Metro St. Louis Physician Offices
Regional Map
Main Medical Center Campus Parking Locator
Map for the Center For Advanced Medicine
Map for St. Louis Children's Hospital
Department Maps
Map for Barnes - Jewish West County Hospital Campus
Map for Progress West Healthcare Center
Map for the Outpatient Orthopedic Center
Home
> Top Stories
Share
Top Stories
PHYSICIANS PROVIDE TOP-TIER CARE FOR PATIENTS WITH HEART ATTACKS
Washington University Outlook, Spring 2011, posted May 15, 2011
Washington University physicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital are in the top 5 percent nationally in the speed with which they treat heart attacks.
When a patient having a heart attack arrives at the emergency department (ED), the clock is ticking. And the clock keeps ticking, seemingly faster and faster.
The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends that patients suffering heart attacks receive artery-clearing therapy as soon as possible. One option is a balloon angioplasty within 90 minutes of arriving a the ED. Previously, the AHA recommended maximum time for this process, called "door-to-balloon," was 120 minutes. The association tightened the standard to save more lives.
Angioplasty is a procedure in which a tiny balloon is threaded into a narrowed heart artery and inflated to reopen blood flow. It is considered to be the most effective method of restoring blood flow to the heart.
Washington University emergency physicians and cardiologists continually look for ways to do even better than the recommended time it takes to diagnose patients arriving in the ED, activate its cardiac treatment team, and initiate angioplasty procedures.
"There is a critical window when treating heart attack patients,
" says
Douglas M. Char, MD, associate professor of emergency medicine
. "We know that patients who get treatment within this time period suffer less heart damage and have better outcomes."
Some of the new measures ED physicians have taken include having paramedics at the scene fax or call in electrocardiogram results from the patient to the hospital. Within minutes, ED physicians activate the full angioplasty team.
To further reduce "door-to-balloon" time, the catheterization laboratory has moved from Queeny Tower to one floor above the ED. Additionally, ED physicians conducted time-motion studies to find other ways to speed up the process. The hallway to the cath lab elevator was reconfigured to shave minutes off the treatment time.
The American Heart Association awarded Barnes-Jewish Hospital the Gold performance certificate in 2009 for emergency cardiac care.
Online version of Washington University School of Medicine Outlook is available at
Outlook.wustl.edu
.
Top Stories
Archives
Washington University Physicians are the medical staff of
and
Employment
About Us
Top Stories
For Your Protection
Site Map
Copyright 2013 Washington University School of Medicine