For patients with a heart attack or a complete blockage of the coronary artery, it will ensure the fastest access to life saving care in Louisville Metro.
STEMI is an acronym meaning “ST segment elevation myocardial infarction,” which is a type of heart attack. This is determined by an electrocardiogram (EKG) test. A STEMI is a more severe type of heart attack.
Through the STEMI Network, which launched December 1, the Emergency Department at Jewish Hospital receives EKG results transmitted wirelessly by Louisville Metro EMS (LMEMS) providers when they suspect that the patient is having a STEMI in the field. Once the emergency department receives the patient’s EKG, they will confirm whether the heart attack is one with elevated ST segments—a pattern on an EKG reading that indicates a total blockage. If a total blockage is suspected, the emergency physician will then activate the cath lab team. When LMEMS arrives at the hospital, hospital staff will transport the patient directly to the cath lab, allowing physicians to clear the blockage sooner.
“For patients with a complete blockage, urgent treatment can decrease the extent of heart muscle damage and thereby improve mortality risk,” said Steven Raible, M.D. “Our goal is to limit the damage to the heart and improve outcomes by getting patients in the cath lab as quickly as possible.”
While all heart attacks are serious, those considered a STEMI, which involves a total artery blockage, are those requiring the quickest treatment. Because of the total blockage, STEMI heart attacks cause rapid loss of heart muscle that cannot be regenerated. In these situations, time saved is muscle saved.
Our goal at LMEMS is to ensure that our patients get the best in cutting-edge care, which is why we first initiated wireless 12-lead EKG transmission and worked to build a citywide hospital network for rapid treatment of heart attacks,” said Neal J. Richmond, M.D., LMEMS CEO and Medical Director. “When a heart muscle is starved of the blood it needs to live, every second counts. Bypassing the Emergency Department through the STEMI Network at Jewish Hospital means we’ll be able to save critical time for patients, not just in seconds but in minutes.”
KentuckyOne Health treats more heart patients than any other health system in the state of Kentucky and has performed many firsts in heart care in Louisville, Lexington, the region, state and world.
In October, KentuckyOne announced plans for an additional $30 million investment in heart and vascular care over the next three years. This investment will include efforts to improve outreach, collaboration, technologies and programs, as well as clinical trials in total heart implants, ventricular assist devices, valve replacements and adult heart stem cell harvesting and implantation.
“We continue to invest in research and technology to improve patient care and save more lives than ever before,” said Valinda Rutledge, Louisville Market Leader, KentuckyOne Health and President, Jewish Hospital. “Kentucky has some of the highest rates of death due to heart disease and stroke in the nation, which makes new developments, such as the STEMI Network, so critical in our state.”
About Jewish Hospital
Jewish Hospital, a part of KentuckyOne Health, is an internationally renowned high-tech tertiary referral center developing leading-edge advancements in hand and microsurgery, heart and lung care, cancer care, home care, rehab medicine, sports medicine, orthopaedics, neuroscience, occupational health, organ transplantation and outpatient and primary care. Site of the world’s first successful hand transplant, the world’s first and second successful AbioCor® Implantable Replacement Heart procedures, and world’s first trial of cardiac stem cells in chronic heart failure, the hospital is in the select group that performs heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas transplantation.
About Louisville Metro EMS
Louisville Metro Emergency Medical Services (LMEMS) provides 24-hours-a-day 911 emergency medical care throughout the Louisville Metro area. Medically focused and data-driven, LMEMS is committed to the development of the latest advances in basic and advanced life support patient care. Utilizing a comprehensive approach to education, training, technology and research, the goal of LMEMS is to provide a best-practices model for EMS to those whose visit, reside and work in Louisville Metro.
Cell Phone: 502-641-5461
Direct Phone: 502-562-7075