Saving the life of someone suffering from chest pain depends on one key factor:  Time.

People with chest pain arriving at Western Baptist are taken immediately to the Chest Pain Center in the hospital’s Emergency department. The seven-bed center operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The dedicated staff includes registered nurses with additional training in acute coronary syndrome and cardiac care.

“The goal of the Chest Pain Center is to save lives,” said Mary Lee Evers, director of Emergency services. “Time saved is heart muscle saved.”

Each year, more than five million Americans enter the hospital with chest pain. In 2007, approximately 17 percent of all Western Baptist Emergency department patients presented with heart attack symptoms.

Unfortunately, most people wait too long—an average of more than two hours after first noticing symptoms—to seek treatment. Acting more quickly can help save their lives, Evers said.

“Successful treatment depends on time,” said Evers. “Patients must recognize symptoms quickly, and physicians must diagnose the problem and initiate treatment quickly.”

Tariq Sayyad, M.D., emergency physician at Western Baptist, said fast, effective treatment improves the chances of survival and recovery. “We diagnose patients through a series of tests and blood work to confirm or rule out a heart attack,” he said.

When someone comes in with chest pain, Evers said:

• Electrocardiograms (EKGs) are performed on chest pain patients within 10 minutes of their arrival, followed by a series of blood tests to check for elevated cardiac enzymes.
• If a heart attack is diagnosed, the goal is to get the patient to the heart catheterization lab as quickly as possible and open the blocked vessel within 90 minutes. Western Baptist Hospital exceeds that standard by averaging 81 minutes for all heart attack patients in 2007. 

The opening of the Baptist Heart Center last year has helped the Chest Pain Center exceed national standards. “The proximity of the center to the Emergency department,” Evers said, “expedites patients’ care and streamlines the treatment process.”

February is American Heart Month. Know the symptoms of a heart attack. Get information at westernbaptist.com/heart or, if you have questions about chest pain, talk to a Western Baptist nurse on the 24-hour Chest Pain and Stroke Hotline at 1-800-575-1911.