Consistently Among the Nation's Best Hospitals for Heart Attack Care

You have a greater chance of surviving a heart attack at Lehigh Valley Hospital

Lehigh Valley Hospital consistently ranks in the top 1 percent in the nation for heart attack survival according to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services "Hospital Compare" data. That means among all the hospitals that provide heart attack care, patients suffering a heart attack have nearly the best chance for survival if they come to Lehigh Valley Hospital. Heart attack survival rates are widely viewed as a yardstick for a hospital’s overall quality of care.

Teamwork is required to be among the nation's best hospitals for heart attack care. Our team includes cardiologists, cardiac surgeons, emergency medicine specialists, nurses, and support staff members who are committed to excellence in heart attack care. We took a significant step forward 10 years ago when our team gathered to create a program that provides fast care for people suffering a heart attack. Their work led to the creation of our MI Alert for Heart Attacks program.

Through the program, we educated paramedics and EMTs to use an EKG to diagnose a heart attack in the field. They communicate the EKG results via radio to an emergency physician. If the physician agrees with the diagnosis, an MI Alert is initiated to set the hospital’s heart attack care team in motion.

With the ambulance en route, emergency and cardiac catheterization lab staff prepare for the patient’s arrival. When the patient arrives and the diagnosis is confirmed, the patient is quickly taken to the cardiac catheterization lab where caregivers are ready to perform a life-saving angioplasty. This efficient process allows us to consistently open patients’ blocked arteries in less than 90 minutes, the “gold standard” for heart attack care.

We’re making high quality heart attack care available to more people through our partnership with regional hospitals. When heart attack patients arrive at hospitals in Hazleton, Lehighton, Pottsville, Palmerton, Sellersville and Ashland, a Lehigh Valley Health Network MedEvac helicopter or ambulance transports them to Lehigh Valley Hospital for life-saving care.

This page last updated 11/23/11 10:37 AM