Every Minute Matters During a Heart Attack

During a heart attack, every minute matters -- permanent damage can begin within 30 minutes of a heart blockage. The national campaign “Survive, Don’t Drive” is more than a catchy slogan – patients who call 911 receive treatment for their heart attack faster than those who drive themselves to the hospital. Here’s why.

When you call 911 and an ambulance arrives on scene for a suspected heart attack, it sets off a chain of carefully orchestrated events. Patient care begins immediately and continues in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

Ambulances can transmit an EKG straight to the emergency room for a physician evaluation -- and if a heart attack is suspected, a team at BRG is deployed to prepare for the patient’s arrival, including a cardiologist, the cardiac catheterization team, and the ER team.

Once the patient arrives at BRG, they are taken straight to the cath lab for treatment via a dedicated elevator in the ER, saving valuable minutes to life-saving care. The standard method to treat these heart attacks is called angioplasty. Doctors insert a tiny plastic tube into one of the arteries and then use that tube to inflate a tiny balloon to open the blockage and add a stent to hold the artery open, restoring blood flow.

The time from when a patient arrives at the ER to when the heart blockage is opened is called door-to-balloon time. While the national standard for hospitals to restore blood flow to the heart is 90 minutes, the team at Baton Rouge General does it in an average of 43 minutes — more than twice as fast as the national benchmark for door-to-balloon time.

If you experience any of the common symptoms of heart attack, call 911 right away:

• Chest pain

• Discomfort or pain in one or both arms

• Discomfort or pain in the neck or jaw

• Abdominal discomfort that feels like heartburn

• Shortness of breath, nausea or dizziness

• Sweating

• Fatigue

Learn more about why every minute matters in a heart attack.