Dameron Hospital | Health Outlook | Winter 2018

“Patients can rest assured that Dameron Hospital’s experienced care team is fully prepared to treat heart and vascular conditions using advanced techniques that provide excellent clinical outcomes while minimizing recovery times and complications. We have a seamless cardiovascular care process that is timely, effective and in the best interests of the patient. We’ve really taken our cardiac care services to the next level and this benefits the entire community.” —Lee Stenzler, MD, Cardiologist, Pacific Heart and Vascular and Medical Director of the Dameron Hospital Cardiac Cath Lab Dameron is one of San Joaquin County’s designated heart attack receiving centers Dameron Hospital is one of only two hospitals designated by San Joaquin County as a heart attack STEMI Receiving Center. STEMI (ST-elevated myocardial infarction) Receiving Centers are designed to ensure that patients experiencing certain types of heart attacks receive rapid access to cardiac catheterization, performed by a highly trained cardiologist, to reopen their blocked cardiac blood vessels as quickly as possible. Minutes matter In a STEMI, the coronary artery is completely blocked by a blood clot, so the section of heart muscle that receives blood from the affected artery begins to die. This is why rapid intervention is crucial for the patient. The goals of heart attack treatment are to return blood flow to the heart muscle, bring back a regular heartbeat and give the heart time to recover. As a designated STEMI Receiving Center, Dameron is licensed to provide 24-hour access to cardiac cath lab and cardiovascular surgery services and have a cardiologist on call 24 hours per day. We are also required to meet stringent performance standards, which we have consistently met or exceeded. The San Joaquin County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Agency monitors the speed and effectiveness of the STEMI Receiving Center’s response against the American Heart Association’s benchmark to open patient’s blocked blood vessels with blood flowing normally within 60 to 90 minutes of arrival. Dameron beats national benchmarks “We have been able to consistently resolve STEMI cases sooner than the American Heart Association’s current standard of 60 minutes or less,” says Lee Stenzler, MD, Pacific Heart and Vascular Cardiologist and Medical Director of the Dameron Hospital Cardiac Cath Lab. “Over the past few years, most of our STEMI patients have been successfully treated within 20 to 45 minutes. This is the time it takes from their registration in our Emergency Department (ED) to successfully opening the blocked coronary artery. These results speak volumes about how well our care teams in the ED and the cath lab work together in tandem.” DID YOU KNOW? dameronhospital.org 5