DALLAS, April 10, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The timing of treatment when someone is having a heart attack can mean the difference between life and death. To help save lives, the American Heart Association and the Society of Chest Pain Centers joined forces in September 2011 to improve the care of patients suffering from the most deadly type of heart attack known as an ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI). The American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline® Heart Attack Referring/Receiving Center Accreditation program recognizes hospitals for their ability to quickly and appropriately treat heart attack patients.
In an effort to improve the processes surrounding the care of the STEMI heart attack patient, the American Heart Association launched Mission: Lifeline® in 2007. Mission: Lifeline® provides tools and resources to hospitals and EMS agencies with the goal of making systems of care more efficient to help improve the overall quality of care received by each STEMI patient. Mission: Lifeline® systems start with the 9-1-1 call or at entry into the emergency system, continues through the catheterization laboratory and through hospital discharge by promoting best practices that are identified using the very latest scientific evidence-based treatment for STEMI. Through this new program, accreditation is granted to hospitals that meet the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline® defined standards for prompt diagnosis and treatment of a STEMI heart attack.
"Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming more than 616,000 lives each year," said Gordon Tomaselli, M.D., President of the American Heart Association. "By taking steps to significantly reduce cardiac death in patients through education of early heart attack symptoms, reducing time for life-saving treatment and increasing the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment administered, the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline® Heart Attack Referring/Receiving Center Accreditation program will help save lives in hospitals across the country."
Since the program's inception, 10 hospitals located in various parts of the country, including Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Virginia, have been recognized with this accreditation.
The facilities have been recognized for meeting the standards of quality care by using the very latest scientific evidence-based treatment for heart attack patients. All centers that have received accreditation will now be able to proudly display the new American Heart Association Mission: Lifeline® Heart Attack Referring/Receiving Center Heart-Check mark that will help patients easily identify the facility as one of quality and trust.
For more information on the American Heart Association Mission: Lifeline® Heart Attack Referring/Receiving Center Accreditation and hospitals that have received accreditation, please visit www.heart.org/myhospital or www.scpcp.org.
About the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline®
Mission: Lifeline® was launched in 2007 to improve systems of care for patients suffering from STEMI by breaking down and eliminating the obstacles that keep patients from accessing and receiving appropriate treatment.
Mission: Lifeline® brings together healthcare resources into an efficient, synergic system to improve overall quality of care based on the latest scientific evidence and guidelines. It addresses the entire continuum of care for STEMI patients while preserving a role for the local hospital. While there is no "one-size-fits all" solution to efficiently treat STEMI patients, Mission: Lifeline® develops protocols specific to the rural or urban area, along with providing recommendations for community level implementation of STEMI systems of care. The Mission: Lifeline® ideal STEMI system of care is that all parties with a vested interest in the treatment of STEMI patients - from EMS providers to cardiologists, from hospital administrators to policymakers and from third-party payers to the public - share a common belief that quality and timely patient care is the top priority. There is a mutual respect for the critical role of each player in the STEMI system. Individual parties are not out to promote their own self-serving interests. Rather, everyone works together to build a consensus on what the ideal STEMI system looks like for their region, considering its unique challenges. For more information regarding Mission: Lifeline® please visit the website at www.heart.org/missionlifeline
The American Heart Association logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=9940
About the Society of Chest Pain Centers
The Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) is an international not-for-profit organization committed to leading the fight to eliminate heart disease as the number one cause of death worldwide. SCPC focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by assisting facilities in their effort to create communities of excellence that bring together quality, cost and patient satisfaction. As the only cross-specialty organization, SCPC provides the support needed for individual hospitals and hospital systems to effectively bridge existing gaps in treatment by providing the tools, education and support necessary to successfully navigate the changing face of healthcare. For more information on SCPC, accreditation and certification opportunities, visit www.scpcp.org, or call toll free 1-877-271-4176.
Downloadable logos available on the right column of this link:
http://newsroom.heart.org/pr/aha/_prv-new-american-heart-association-231763.aspx