Improving reponse times, treatment for STEMI: If they can do it there....what about us?

Here's what's going on in the Boston area:

Boston hospital rescues STEMI patient in record time

On Dec. 21, 2007, Mark Rosen of Boston began to feel chest pains after shoveling snow. He called 9-1-1, and paramedics suspected he’d suffered ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), a very serious type of heart attack. They called ahead to Brigham and Women’s Hospital, which has been working to shorten its emergency response time according to recommendations of the AHA’s Mission: Lifeline initiative. The hospital activated its “Code STEMI” response system, and when the ambulance arrived, several members of Brigham’s catheterization lab were waiting.Just 14 minutes later, Rosen received lifesaving balloon catheter therapy, a hospital record for “door-to-balloon” time.

“Once at the hospital, victims may sit in busy emergency rooms while doctors sort out symptoms or await a cardiologist's opinion. (But at Brigham and Women’s), once a heart attack is diagnosed by an emergency room doctor, or called in by paramedics, the catheterization lab is activated,” writes David Talbot in the Boston Globe.

Here in Illinois, a few EMS systems have done an excellent job speeding up response for suspected STEMI incidents. However, most EMS systems, including the City of Chicago are just starting to talk about it. So, if you have a STEMI, you better hope you're in the right place!