For Immediate Release
Contact: Diane Burke
Public Relations Specialist
Western Connecticut Health Network
203-739-7461
diane.burke@wchn.org
Danbury Hospital Earns Chest Pain Center with PCI Accreditation
Award demonstrates heart-attack response teams earn high marks
Danbury, Connecticut – August 19, 2015 – The Praxair Regional Heart and
Vascular Center at Danbury Hospital has earned a full three-year Chest Pain
Center with PCI accreditation, the highest level of accreditation, from the
Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC). The PCI designation means
that the hospital uses a specialized treatment called percutaneous coronary
intervention (PCI) as the primary treatment for acute heart attacks. This
ensures that patients experiencing an acute heart attack receive rapid
treatment in the cardiac catheterization laboratory to minimize damage to
the heart muscle.
Hospitals awarded this designation have Primary PCI available to patients
who may be experiencing a heart attack. Hospital-based and Emergency
Medical Service (EMS) teams are focused on the “door to balloon” time, the
period from when a patient enters an emergency room to the time treatment
begins to unclog the blocked arteries, minimizing heart damage and
improving survival. EMS teams routinely initiate “heart attack alerts” in the
field to help hospital teams prepare for a patient’s arrival at Danbury
Hospital for advanced cardiac services. In addition to electronic transmission
of electrocardiograms performed “in the field,” EMS and first responders
make every moment count as they transport the patient to the hospital.
Fortunately, that’s what happened to 45-year-old Kenneth Priest of Danbury
who experienced a heart attack on July 10, 2015. “I had just started using
the weed trimmer in my garden. After using it for a few minutes, it ran out
of gas so I walked back into the garage when suddenly I felt like I was
having a serious case of indigestion,” said Priest. “I decided to go inside the
house and get something cold to drink, but that didn’t make me feel any
better, so I went and took a shower where I started feeling chest pains. It
felt like someone was kneeling on my chest,” noted Priest.” “When I got out
of the shower I asked my spouse Eric to drive me to the emergency room,
but he took one good look at me and immediately called 9-1-1.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States,
with 600,000 deaths annually. More than 700,000 people experience heart
attacks each year and more than five million Americans visit hospitals each
year with chest pain. SCPC’s goal is to significantly reduce the mortality rate
of these patients by teaching the public to recognize and react to the early
symptoms of a possible heart attack, reduce the time that it takes to receive
treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.
An Accredited Chest Pain Center’s evidence-based, protocol-driven and
systematic approach to cardiac patient care allows clinicians to reduce time
to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack. Chest pain
centers also better monitor patients when it is not yet clear whether or not a
patient is having a heart related event. Such monitoring ensures patients
are neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.
SCPC’s CPC accreditation process ensures that hospitals meet or exceed a
wide set of stringent criteria and undergo a comprehensive onsite review by
a team of specialists. Hospitals that received SCPC CPC Accreditation status
have achieved a higher level of expertise in dealing with patients who arrive
with symptoms of a chest pain. They emphasize the importance of
standardized diagnostic and treatment programs that provide more efficient
and effective evaluation as well as more appropriate and rapid treatment of
patients with chest pain and other heart attack symptoms.
“Luckily, I arrived at the Danbury Hospital Emergency Department by
ambulance where it took about 45 minutes from my heart attack diagnosis
to treatment in the cardiac catheterization laboratory,” said Priest.
In the cardiac catheterization laboratory, interventional cardiologist Dr. Marc
Krichavsky determined that one of Priest’s heart arteries was 100 percent
blocked. “He needed to undergo an angioplasty with stent procedure to
unclog the blocked artery,” noted Dr. Krichavsky. While preparing for the
procedure, Priest told Dr. Krichavsky having a blocked artery diagnosis took
him by surprise because his cholesterol levels were good. However, he did
have a major risk factor; he was a smoker.
“One of the doctors explained what smoking actually does to walls of the
arteries,” said Priest. “He said the arteries are lined with what is the
equivalent of non-stick cookware so, when you smoke, that non-stick
coating starts to flake off forming plaque on the arteries walls.”
“When it comes to heart attacks, time is muscle, so awareness of the
important signs and symptoms is essential so patients and family members
know when to activate 9-1-1 and get to the hospital quickly. Using the 9-1-1
system is a safer way to get to the hospital. It also allows first responders to
begin lifesaving treatment immediately and alert the emergency
cardiovascular teams at the Hospital with a diagnostic electrocardiogram and
prepare accordingly. The 9-1-1 system is designed to save lives and we can
then treat patients earlier during the window of time when the heart muscle
can be preserved,” said Dr. Hal Wasserman, director of the cardiac
catheterization laboratory at Danbury Hospital.
By achieving SCPC’s Chest Pain Center with PCI Accreditation status,
Danbury Hospital’s Praxair Regional Heart and Vascular Center demonstrated
expertise in the following areas:

Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency
medical system

Assessing, diagnosing, and treating patients quickly

Effectively treating patients who are lower risk heart attack but have
other causes of chest pain

Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures

Ensuring the competence and training of Accredited Chest Pain Center
personnel

Having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care

Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to
promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible
heart attack.
“You never know if or when you’ll have a heart attack,” said Priest. “But, if
you do, I can’t think of a better place to get treatment.”
About the Praxair Regional Heart and Vascular Center
The Praxair Regional Heart and Vascular Center at Danbury Hospital offers
life-saving cardiovascular care. Our highly trained specialists and skilled
clinical teams are supported by the most advanced technology, which allows
them to rapidly diagnose and effectively treat cardiac and vascular diseases.
The Center is Chest Pain accredited and has an experienced team of doctors,
nurses, and technicians recruited from the finest academic medical centers
available 24/7 for emergency treatment of heart attacks. Our Vascular
Surgery Service is Vein Center accredited, an award shared by less than 50
vein centers nationwide. Our patients experience the best service and
outcomes in the region while staying close to home because all the
resources they need are right here.
At the Praxair Regional Heart and Vascular Center, patients have access to a
range of services, including disease prevention, diagnostic testing,
interventional cardiology, transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR)
endovascular stenting, electrophysiology and minimally invasive and open
cardiac and minimally invasive open heart and vascular surgery. Additional
resources include the Marcus Cardiac Rehabilitation Center, the Women's
Cardiac Program, clinical research trials, and support services and programs.
The Center is also a regional training facility for interns, residents and
cardiovascular disease fellows.
About Western Connecticut Health Network
Western Connecticut Health Network is the region's premier, patientcentered health care organization serving residents of Western Connecticut
and adjacent New York. The organization is anchored by three nationally
recognized hospitals, Danbury Hospital, New Milford Hospital and Norwalk
Hospital, as well as their affiliated organizations. In addition to the three
hospitals, the continuum of care offered includes numerous medical practices
and sub-specialties across the region, home health care services, a
nationally renowned biomedical research institute, the Western Connecticut
Health Network Foundation, the Norwalk Hospital Foundation and other
affiliates. For more information, visit our websites:
www.danburyhospital.org; www.newmilfordhospital.org; and
www.norwalkhospital.org. For more information, visit TheNewWCHN.org.
Share your comments with us at Facebook.com/DanburyHospital;
Facebook.com/NewMilfordHospital and/or Facebook.com/NorwalkHospital.
About the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care
The Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care (SCPC) is an international
nonprofit organization that focuses on transforming cardiovascular care by
assisting facilities in their effort to create cardiovascular centers of
excellence that deliver quality, cost and patient satisfaction. As the only
cross-specialty organization, SCPC provides the support needed for
individual hospitals and hospital systems to effectively reduce variations of
care and bridge existing gaps in treatment by providing the tools, education
and support necessary to improve patient outcomes.
For more information on SCPC’s accreditation and certification opportunities,
visit www.scpc.org, or call toll free 1-877-271-4176.
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