Memorial Hospital West Now Performing Emergency Angioplasties for Life-Saving Heart Attack Intervention
Heart Attack Symptoms
If you or loved one experiences any of the following symptoms of a heart attack, call 911 or get to a hospital immediately.
- Chest pain with intermittent pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain
- Shortness of breath
- Weakness or numbness in arms, hands, legs or feet
- Nausea, dizziness or lightheadedness
- Unusual fatigue
- Cold sweats
April 2005 — Memorial Hospital West recently was certified by the Florida Agency for Healthcare Administration to perform Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasties (PTCAs) on patients suffering myocardial infarctions, or heart attacks.
For the communities that Memorial Hospital West serves, this means that prompt, around-the-clock treatment is now available during the critical first minutes of a heart attack — helping to save more lives. A Rapid Response Heart Attack Team works closely with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the Emergency Department at Memorial Hospital West to mobilize the expertise and equipment needed for life-saving intervention, often before the patient even arrives.
Minutes Mean Muscle
A heart attack occurs when a coronary artery becomes blocked. Without adequate blood flow, the heart does not receive the oxygen and other nutrients it needs to function. Fast treatment is vital in reducing the risk of damage to the heart muscle, disability or even death.
Emergency angioplasty involves the use of a balloon to open obstructed arteries, and in many cases, also may include placement of a tiny, wire-mesh tube (a stent) inside the artery to keep it open. This procedure is being performed in the hospital’s new Cardiovascular Intervention Suite, which also provides diagnostic services through highly advanced, all-digital X-ray cardiovascular imaging equipment.
“We have the ability to diagnose a heart attack faster and provide the intervention needed to save lives,” says Bassel B. Ibrahim, MD, Director of Interventional Cardiology at Memorial Regional Hospital and Medical Director of Cardiac Catheterization Services at Memorial Hospital West. “In some patients, the blocked artery can be reopened in less than 45 minutes.”
Recent studies have concluded that angioplasty is superior to medication for treating heart attacks. “The success rate following these new innovations has grown to more than 95 percent, compared to results from the best medication, which has a success rate of only 75 to 80 percent,” says Dr. Ibrahim. “Not only does angioplasty open more arteries, but it also creates a more brisk blood flow, which has been found to give better short- and long-term outcomes.”
If you are concerned about your risk for a heart attack and would like a referral to a physician, call Memorial Physician Referral Service toll-free at (800) 944-DOCS. We’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.