When you’re having a heart attack, every second counts
By Ken McEntee
Despite the global pandemic, heart disease—including cardiac arrest—is still the world’s top killer, according to the American Heart Association.
“A patient who comes to the Emergency Room having a heart attack is generally considered to be the sickest person in the hospital—the patient who is most at risk,” says Registered Nurse Geoffrey Patty, quality and chest pain coordinator at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center.
That’s why Geoffrey emphasizes the urgency of seeking immediate medical care when you experience heart attack symptoms.
“A significant number of people around the country last year neglected treatment of serious health issues because Covid-19 scared them away from hospitals,” Geoffrey laments. “Our Emergency Room volume was down 75 to 80 percent. You would walk through the ER last March or April and there’d be one or two patients there. We later learned that many people were having chest pain and shortness of breath for a month or longer before seeking care.”
When it comes to heart attacks, Geoffrey says, “time is muscle.”
“The quicker you interrupt the heart attack process, the quicker you get the blood flowing, which means less damage is done to the heart,” he explains.
Fortunately for residents of Geauga County and surrounding communities, University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute at UH Geauga Medical Center is uniquely qualified to provide fast, life-saving treatment, Geoffrey says.
“We take care of patients from Geauga County all the way to the Pennsylvania line,” he says. “We’re kind of like the model of a regional trauma center, but for heart attacks.”
Nationally, the American College of Cardiology’s standard targets a “door to balloon time”—the time from a patient’s entrance into a hospital to the opening of a blocked artery—of 90 minutes.
“Over the past three years, UH Geauga Medical Center achieved an average door-to-balloon time of 47 minutes, meaning that we are treating patients better and faster than 90 percent of the hospitals capable of treating heart attack patients in the entire U.S.,” Geoffrey reports, adding that the national average is around 60 minutes.
Because every second matters, Geoffrey advises people who experience heart attack symptoms to call 911 immediately.
“It’s better not to drive to the hospital,” he says. “EMS is a huge part of our lifesaving efforts. When paramedics arrive at your home, they can immediately start a 12 lead EKG (electrocardiogram) and assess the situation. If you’re having a heart attack, EMS transmits the EKG to the hospital and alerts us that a patient is on the way so we’re ready to go as soon as the patient comes through the door.”
Common heart attack symptoms include pain in the chest, shooting pain the left arm and shortness of breath, as well as sweating and nausea. Women may be more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting and back or jaw pain.
Geoffrey assures that the hospital is a safe environment, with a staff well trained in controlling infectious disease, including the spread of Covid-19.
University Hospitals Harrington Heart & Vascular Institute at UH Geauga Medical Center underwent a major expansion in response to a growing need for those services in Geauga, Lake and Ashtabula counties.
University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center is located at 13207 Ravenna Road, in Chardon. You can learn more about heart health services by visiting UHHospitals.org/services/heart-and-vascular-services or by calling 440-901-1937.