For Heart Health, Time is of the Essence

At Cedar Park Regional Medical Center, we focus on the rapid identification and diagnosis of heart attacks. Rapid response can mean the difference between permanent heart muscle damage and complete recovery.

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 dying annually from heart disease. More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. The goal of the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care is to significantly reduce the mortality rates of these patients by teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a possible heart attack, reduce the tinme that it takes to receive treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.

A systematic approach is provided to allow physicians to reduce time to treatment during the early critical stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective, and to carefully monitor patients when it is not clear whether they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that a patient is neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.