Cardiology

The Heart Institute at St. Joseph Hospital has pioneered the way to provide state-of-the-art cardiovascular services to North Coast residents. This means quality cardiac care close to home that includes prevention, education, diagnostic and treatment services, as well as a full cardiac rehabilitation program.

The St. Joseph Hospital Heart Institute team has focused on performance ratings for three important indicators from the National Registry of Myocardial Infarction (NRMI). The team received the high ratings in the:

• Time to medication upon arrival at Emergency Room. Score: 100%. Studies show that early treatment with aspirin reduces mortality from Acute Myocardial Infarction (heart attack).
• Time taken to receive angioplasty. Average time: 80 minutes. This is the time from when a patient first comes to the emergency room and receives diagnosis, has a cardiologist notified, is transported to the Cath Lab, and has angioplasty/stenting performed. Providing care in 90 minutes is the national goal for achieving optimal care.
• Patient referral to Cardiac Rehabilitation. Over 80% of cardiac patients at St. Joseph Hospital receive education or referrals for Cardiac Rehab. Other hospitals in the study (over 1,200) reported only a 25% average referral rate.