BY ERIN BOUNDS
More than 730,000 American suffer a heart attack each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sadly, Kentucky ranks No. 8 in heart disease mortality rates. More than 11,300 Kentuckians lost their lives to heart disease in 2020.
King’s Daughters Medical Center is partners with the American College of Cardiology’s Accreditation Services to ensure residents in this area have access to high-quality, evidence-based treatment for heart disease and heart attack.
Recently, the ACC awarded King’s Daughters full Chest Pain Center Accreditation with Primary PCI. This is an accreditation KDMC has held since 2004 when it was the first hospital in the region to earn the distinction.
ACC accreditation is awarded based on rigorous on-site evaluation of the staff’s ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients who may be experiencing a heart attack. Hospitals that earn the ACC Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI Accreditation have proven exceptional competency in treating patients with heart attack symptoms and have primary PCI available 24/7 every day of the year. PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary angioplasty) is a catheter-based, nonsurgical procedure to open narrowed or blocked coronary arteries.
Accreditation criteria include streamlined systems across the continuum of care – from presentation in the ED, diagnosis, treatment, appropriate post-discharge care and education on lifestyle change.
“King’s Daughters has demonstrated its commitment to providing Ashland and the tri-state area with excellent heart care,” said Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., MPH, FACC, chair of the ACC Accreditation Management Board. “ACC Accreditation Services is proud to award KDMC with Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI Accreditation.”
Accredited Chest Pain Centers must take part in a multi-faceted clinical process that includes examining variances of care; developing action plans; on-site review; and monitoring for sustained success.
“We are very proud of our entire team, from pre-hospital care to the ED, the cardiac cath lab, cardiovascular operating rooms, nursing units and cardiac rehab,” said Kim Grooms, executive administrator of heart and vascular services at King’s Daughters. “We are committed to providing the highest quality cardiac care to all of our communities, and our partnership with the American College of Cardiology demonstrates this commitment,” she said.
An important component of providing world-class heart care is education, prevention and action. The most common symptom of a heart attack is chest pain or discomfort. Additional heart attack symptoms include, but are not limited to, tingling or discomfort in one or both arms, back, shoulder, neck or jaw, shortness of breath, cold sweat, unusual tiredness, heartburn-like feeling, nausea or vomiting, sudden dizziness and fainting. Women are more likely to experience atypical symptoms and chest pain may or may not be present.