Saving lives with state-of-the-art communications technology

CHALFONT, PA - Chal-Brit Regional Emergency Medical Services has made an effort to reduce the time it takes to get heart attack patients definitive cardiac catheterization (Cath) treatment.  Russell Leets, Chief and Ryan Pankoe, Deputy Chief have announced the installation of advanced time-saving technology that will allow for rapid notification and the transmission of 12-lead EKG waveforms of heart attack victims to the hospital.  This life-saving initiative is accomplished through wireless (Bluetooth) technology that allows field paramedics to transmit 12-lead EKG information directly from the ambulance or a patient’s home to the emergency department physicians, the cardiac catheterization lab, and the on-call cardiologist.

A heart attack, or myocardial infarction (MI), is a condition in which heart muscle tissue begins to die as a result of inadequate oxygenation. The most common immediate cause is decreased blood flow through narrowed coronary arteries that supply the heart oxygen.

The body produces small electrical impulses that rhythmically travel through the heart, enabling it to beat.  A 12-lead electrocardiogram (EKG) is a monitoring machine that measures and graphs the characteristics of the impulses traveling through the heart, and stores a record of several views at different angles. A heart attack will typically display a "signature wave form" on the EKG. That EKG signature, known as a "STEMI", is the "red flag" that initiates the Cath-lab preparation process.  

Cardiac catheterization refers to an invasive technique used to restore blood flow to an oxygen-starved heart. Inserting a catheter into the coronary artery and inflating a small balloon increases the blood-carrying diameter of the artery. This procedure is only performed in hospitals with special heart catheterization laboratories.

Time is an essential component of the catheterization procedure. The sooner it is done, the better the overall outcome will be for the patient. "Time is muscle" is a phrase often associated with heart attacks and refers to the need to act quickly to protect the heart muscle. Local hospitals will activate their catheterization labs based on electrocardiogram (EKG) information and verbal reports that they receive from Chal-Brit Regional EMS paramedics in the field. Prior to the installation of this transmission technology, the process for activating the cath labs was not started until after a full evaluation of the patient in the hospital’s Emergency Department.

Being able to transmit this “picture of the heart” to the hospital provides a collaborative effort between the field paramedics and the hospital to recognize and diagnose a heart attack, allowing the catheterization preparation process to start before the patient even reaches the hospital.  Chal-Brit regional EMS is working to reduce the most significant threats associated with heart attacks including a secondary heart attack (MI), stroke, and death.

According to Bob Bair, President of the CBREMS, "Installation of these devices in both of our units is an indication of our continued efforts to provide the very best emergency medical care to our patients and the communities we serve".
 
According to Chief Leets, “The Philips EKG Monitors cost approximately $20,000 each and the transmission equipment approximately $170/month and will be part of the CBREMS 2009 programmed budget.”

Why does Chal-Brit Regional EMS feel that this is such an important project?  According to both the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, the national goal is to have heart attack patients in the Cath Lab within 90 minutes of their arrival at the hospital. On average nationwide, that goal is reached with only 62% of heart attack patients.  Chal-Brit Regional EMS’ goal is to cut that time in half and provide the opportunity to meet this goal for all patients, thus saving heart muscle and human lives.