Heart Attack (Acute Myocardial Infarction)

Nationally recognized indicators of quality have been established for the diagnosis of Heart Attack (Acute Myocardial Infarction. These quality indicators are being utilized by The Joint Commission, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA), and the Wisconsin Collaborative for Healthcare Quality (WCHQ) for public reporting efforts.

Aspirin Prescribed at Arrival/Discharge: The first measure below reports what percent of heart attack patients receive aspirin within 24 hours before or after they arrive.  The second measure reports how often aspirin was prescribed to heart attack patients when discharged. Aspirin is beneficial because it reduces the tendency of blood to clot in blood vessels of the heart and improves survival rates.

ACE Inhibitor or ARB for Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD): This measure reports what percent of heart attack patients who have problems with the heart pumping enough blood to the body were prescribed medicines at discharge to improve their heart's ability to pump (either an ACE inhibitor or an ARB, an angiotensin receptor blocker). ACE Inhibitors and ARBs are groups of medications that relax blood vessels and make it easier for the heart muscle to pump blood to vital organs.

Coronary Intervention Within 90 Minutes of Hospital Arrival: This measure reports how quickly heart attack patients had a clogged artery in the heart opened with a balloon therapy called PCI to increase blood flow to the heart and reduce heart damage. Lack of blood supply to heart muscle can cause lasting heart damage. In certain types of heart attacks, a small balloon is threaded into a blood vessel in the heart to open up a clogged artery that keeps the blood from flowing to the heart muscle.  It is important that this therapy be given quickly after a heart attack is diagnosed.