More People Surviving Heart Attacks in Memphis, Tenn.

Jan. 26--At Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto a smartphone app is used from ambulances to give doctors in the emergency room a picture of what will be needed to treat heart attack victims before they arrive.

"Time is muscle" is the mantra that heart doctors at the hospital in Southaven and nationwide have used to guide a mission to shave the minutes before a heart muscle-saving procedure often involving inserting a tiny balloon to unclog an artery and restore blood flow.

The American College of Cardiology in 2006 called for a "door-to-balloon" time of 90 minutes or less for most heart attack patients.

The Baptist hospital in Southaven has been among those nationwide analyzing data, refining processes and learning the value of teamwork to transform heart attack treatment, according to Dr. Arie Szatkowski, a Stern Cardiovascular Foundation cardiologist and the director of cardiac care services at Baptist-DeSoto.

"There's been an improvement in heart attack survival across the country over the years because of improvements in technology, improvements in medication and there are other factors," Szatkowski said.

"But there is variation in the improvement from institution to institution, and...almost all of it depends on your ability to coordinate successfully the care between your physicians, your staff, your emergency personnel," he said.

Baptist-DeSoto's efforts have paid off with a 2015 ACTION Registry-GWTG Platinum performance achievement award for meeting 90 percent of performance measures for eight consecutive quarters, according to the American College of Cardiology. It was one of only 319 nationwide receiving the platinum recognition.

Dr. Lisa Young, a cardiologist with Sutherland Cardiology Clinic, said that one sign of the transformation of heart attack care in recent years is that surgeons who perform heart bypass surgery are seeing a decline in patients.

"We've had a bit of trouble here in Memphis maintaining surgeons, just because their cases have dropped off and that's across the country," Young said. "We have better medications and the therapies we have now," she said, and the faster people get treatment, the better. Ultimately, Young said, preventing the heart attack is the next movement.

Copyright 2016 - The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, Tenn.