West Tennessee Heart and Vascular Center Earns Highest Award from American College of Cardiology

Jackson, TN (PRWEB) September 16, 2014

The West Tennessee Heart and Vascular Center at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital has achieved the highest award offered by the American College of Cardiology for high-risk heart attack patient treatment.

The ACTION Registry-GWTG Platinum Performance Achievement Award was bestowed only to those hospitals that maintained a performance measure score of 90 percent or better in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) patients for eight consecutive quarters, ending in the last quarter of 2013.

West Tennessee Heart & Vascular

Overall Performance Composite 99.3% STEMI Performance Composite 99.3% NSTEMI Performance Composite 99.3% Discharge Performance Composite 99.3%

STEMI is the abbreviation for an ST-elevation myocardial infarction. A STEMI heart attack is recognized by a test called an electrocardiogram that records the electrical activity of your heart. NSTEMI is a shorthand term for non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction. These types of heart attacks are often abbreviated as NSTEMI. While they may not be as serious as the STEMI heart attack, they are still heart attacks and result in heart muscle death.

This is the third major quality recognition West Tennessee Heart and Vascular Center has received this year. Earlier the hospital received national recognition for its echocardiography services, won reaffirmation for the highest level of accreditation from the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care.

We treat more heart attack patients than any other hospital in Tennessee, but as this award shows it is not how many we treat it is how well that matters most to us, said Deann Montchal, vice president of hospital services.

The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association commend West Tennessee Heart and Vascular Center for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols. This is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of heart attack patients, said James Jollis, MD, FACC, ACTION Registry-GWTG Chair and Professor of Medicine and Radiology at Duke University Hospital.

West Tennessee Heart & Vascular Centers compliance with standards outlined by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association as well as strategies for streamlined processes of transferring patients from nearby facilities were factors that boosted the platinum score the hospital received.

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West Tennessee Heart and Vascular Center Earns Highest Award from American College of Cardiology