November 26, 2008

An online cardiology publication named the University of Virginia Health System in the top three percent of hospitals for treating heart attacks.

The "Journal of the American College of Cardiology" and "Circulation" say UVA excels at quickly opening up blocked cardio-vascular arteries with a catheter balloon. It's a treatment for patients suffering from an acute type of heart attack.

They perform the procedure within ninety minutes of the patient's arrival.

"It turns out to be really important when you get a patient to the cardiac catheritization lab when they have a blocked artery," said Dr. Angela Taylor, an Intervential Cardiologist at the UVA Health System. "The faster we get that artery open, the more heart muscle we can save."

Hospitals must report treatment times for transfer patients as well. Most heart attack patients are transferred from other hospitals, like the Culpeper Regional Hospital and the August Medical Center in Fishersville.

The performance metrics are recommended by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.