NEWS AND PRESS

Teaming Up to Beat Heart Attacks

Although no one wants to have a heart attack, Atlanta could become the best place to have one thanks to the new Atlanta TIME (Timely Intervention for Myocardial Emergencies) project.

This one-of-a-kind initiative makes it possible for Emergency Medical Services (EMS) to transmit life-saving data to local Atlanta hospitals in order to shorten the time to treatment and increase a heart attack victim’s chance of survival.

The cooperative project is sponsored by five hospitals, Atlanta Medical Center, Emory Crawford Long Hospital, Emory University Hospital, Piedmont Hospital and Saint Joseph’s Hospital, and the American Heart Association. All four EMS systems operating in Fulton County (Grady EMS, Rural Metro EMS, Hapeville Fire Department and Atlanta Fire Department ECHO Units at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport) also are participating in the program.

“The Atlanta TIME Project is the first cooperative urban program in the United States developed to provide the most rapid response to a cardiac emergency by improving every step of care from the onset of symptoms to treatment at the hospital,” says Bryan McNally, M.D., emergency medicine physician at Emory University Hospital and co-director of the TIME program. “The time from the onset of the heart attack to the opening of the artery is critical in reducing heart damage and improving survival.”

“Although all hospitals work on shortening the time of arrival to opening the artery, the TIME program concentrates on shortening the time from the onset of symptoms to stopping the attack with angioplasty,” says Spencer King, M.D., chair of interventional cardiology at the Fuqua Heart Center of Atlanta at Piedmont Hospital and co-director of the program.

Full 12-lead electrocardiographic (EKG) units have been placed in all of the ambulances that respond to 911 calls in Fulton County. All of these units have the capability to transmit the EKG immediately to one of the five hospitals that have been equipped with receiving units. The emergency physician at the hospital reads the EKG and activates the emergency catheterization team. Since the diagnosis can be made before the patient arrives, delays of registration and testing at the hospital can be avoided. Protocols have been established in each of the hospitals to streamline the movement of the patient directly to the catheterization laboratory for urgent angioplasty.

“This demonstrates historic cooperation between competing cardiac hospitals for the benefit of critically-ill patients with rapid, life-saving care,” says William Knapp, M.D., Medical Director, Cath Lab, Saint Joseph’s Hospital.

A critical component of the program is a full-time Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) – Paramedic educator who works directly with EMTs to ensure appropriate responses to cardiac emergencies. Data is being collected to assess delays in treatment and their causes in order for quality improvement measures to be implemented.

“We know that the greatest loss of time from the onset of a heart attack to treatment occurs prior to arriving at the hospital,” says Paul Douglass, M.D., director of cardiovascular services and chief of the cardiology division at Atlanta Medical Center.

“Therefore, it is imperative that the public recognize the signs of a heart attack and call 911 immediately. Thanks to this unique cooperative program, a heart attack victim in Fulton County should have the best chance of survival and recovery available anywhere.”