Tampa Bay Heart Institute Utilizes 12-Lead EKG for Cardiac Patients

St. Petersburg, FL  -- (December 21, 2009) – Tampa Bay Heart Institute at Northside Hospital and Largo Medical Center is now working in conjunction with Sunstar EMS to utilize a pre-hospital 12-lead EKG transmission improve patient outcome related to STEMI (ST-elevation myocardial infarction) times. A STEMI time is the time from the moment you arrive at the hospital emergency room with a heart attack to the time that blood flow to and from the heart is reestablished.
 
This new 12-lead EKG transmission is sent from EMS to the emergency room and catheterization lab to inform these departments, especially cardiologists and emergency medicine physicians, of potential STEMI patients before hospital arrival. Knowledge of incoming STEMI patients means preparations at the hospital can be made for treatment, thereby reducing the door to intervention time and increasing a patient’s chances of survival without complications.

The American Heart Association recommends that hospitals restore blood flow to the hearts of STEMI patients within 90 minutes to achieve better survival rates. Northside Hospital’s STEMI times are as low as 43 minutes, and Largo Medical Center's times are as low as 36 minutes.