James Gwinn, M.D.

• The National Registry of Myocardial Infarction says Western Baptist’s response rate for heart attack intervention— under the national average of 90 minutes—is one of the fastest response rates in the nation.
• Western Baptist is one of the first hospitals in the nation to provide rapid cardiac markers in the emergency department, earning it a Cardiac Center of Excellence award from the Dade Behring Corporation.

The markers, a series of blood tests to identify the presence of cardiac enzymes, are given immediately to chest pain patients in Baptist’s Emergency department. If the results are positive, the patient is given medication to break up platelets, helping to prevent or stabilize many heart attacks.

“These initial tests are a first-line defense in heart attacks,” said James Gwinn, M.D., cardiologist at Western Baptist Hospital. “By identifying heart attacks in their earliest stages, we’re able to stabilize the patient, reduce damage to the heart and save heart muscle before further intervention.”

Nearly 400 patients are treated each month in the hospital’s Chest Pain Center in the Emergency department.

“Rapid cardiac marker testing provides faster test results,” said Brian Hawkins, M.D., emergency room physician at Western Baptist. “The ability to quickly identify and treat heart attacks is critical to minimizing cardiac injury.”

Test results are available within minutes, signaling emergency room physicians and staff to mobilize an emergency cardiac catheterization team, if needed. The patient is then taken to the cath lab in the new Baptist Heart Center, where cardiologists may perform lifesaving interventions to stop a heart attack or stabilize heart damage.

Heartburn or heart attack? That can be a tough call. Here’s an easy one: 1-800-575-1911, Western Baptist’s Chest Pain Hotline.