News Review
St. Mary Medical Center named a STEMI heart attack receiving center
A Lifetime in 90 Minutes
BY PATRICK THATCHER STAFF WRITER, The Daily Press
APPLE VALLEY, CA. The first 90 minutes after a heart attack can mean the difference between life and death.
Only one medical facility in the High Desert meets the need for the timely care and is the only hospital where certain types of heart attack victims are transported.
St. Mary Medical Center was recently designated by the Inland Counties Emergency M e d i c a l A ge n c y a s a STEMI heart attack receiving center. It is one of only five in San Bernardino County.
Director of Cardiac Services at St. Mary Medical Center, Pat Lucken, N.P., spearheaded the effort for the designation. She said a major criteria the hospital met was having on site 24/7 emergency cardiac surgery backup.
“It is a huge commitment of the cardiologists who are on call 24/7 and a lot of sacrifice for them on a personal level,” Lucken said.
The hospital also has two digital cardiac catheterization labs that can do emergency angiograms to identify and open blocked arteries of the heart.
She said a STEMI heart attack is basically a special form of heart attack that only St. Mary Medical Center can treat.
“STEMI heart attacks are only about 15 percent of heart attacks where you may need to open an artery in 90 minutes or less,” Lucken said. “We are the only facility in the High Desert that can do that in an emergency.”
She said paramedics play an important role in determining if the patient is having a STEMI heart attack.
“It takes about a minute for paramedics in the field to get an EKG (electrocardiogram) read and if they suspect it is a STEMI they’ll come here and bypass other hospitals on the way,” Lucken said.
She says that time is always the key factor in saving a heart attack victim.
“Studies show that every 15-minute delay in opening the artery raises the risk of mortality,” Lucken said.
Director of the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab, Dr. Syed Raza, emphasized the importance of a quick response to a STEMI heart attack.
“Time is a heart saved, and each life saved is a family saved,” Raza said.
STEMI is just one aspect of the medical center’s full line of cardiac services that include cardiac rehab for treatment after a heart attack, bypass surgery, and cardiovascular nutrition programs with the hospital’s registered dietitian.
St. Mary Medical Center is considered one of the premier cardiovascular centers in Southern California. It recently formed the Academy of Heart Care Excellence that brings together an array of heart care specialists.
“Cardiologists, anesthesiologist, cardio - thoracic surgeons get together on a regular basis to discuss the latest treatments, coordination of care and we have an evidenced based program that focuses on better and improved outcomes,” said James Kyle, M.D., chief medical officer.