Hospital recognized for implementing quality cardiac and stroke care

CARMEL, IN (December 3, 2007) — St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana recently received the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines –Coronary Artery Disease (GWTG– CAD) Gold Performance Achievement Award. The award recognizes St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of cardiac care that effectively improves treatment of patients hospitalized with coronary artery disease.

Under the GWTG–CAD program, patients are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol–lowering drugs, aspirin, ACE inhibitors and beta–blockers in the hospital and receive smoking cessation/weight management counseling as well as referrals for cardiac rehabilitation before they are discharged. Hospitals that receive the GWTG–CAD Gold Performance Achievement Award have demonstrated for 24 consecutive months that at least 85 percent of its eligible coronary patients (without contraindications) are discharged following the American Heart Association's recommended treatment guidelines.

"The American Heart Association applauds St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana for its success in implementing the appropriate evidence–based care and protocols to reduce the number of recurrent events and deaths in cardiovascular disease patients," said Gregg C Fonarow, M.D., National Chairman of the Get With The Guidelines Steering Committee and Director of Ahmanson–UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center. "St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana has achieved a high level of performance in terms of implementing these life–prolonging treatments."

In the past two years, St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana has received three GWTG awards. It received the Bronze (Initial) Performance Achievement Award after having at least an 85% average compliance in our CAD module's six key measures over a 90 consecutive day period. It then received the Silver (Annual) Performance Achievement Award after having 85% average compliance in the same six indicators for 12 consecutive months. It recently was awarded the Gold (Sustained) Performance Achievement Award after holding the same 85% average compliance over 24 consecutive months.

"St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana is dedicated to making our cardiac unit among the best in the U.S., and the American Heart Association's Get With The Guidelines program is helping us accomplish that by making it easier for our professionals to improve the long–term outcomes of our cardiac patients," said Elizabeth Cisco, Vice President of Marketing and Development at St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana. "We are pleased to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care."

St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana is one of 277 hospitals in the United States that was recognized in the July 23 issue of US News & World Report by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's Get With the Guidelines SM (GWTG) program in an ad for its performance achievement in cardiac and stroke patient care.

Get With The Guidelines
The American Heart Association's GWTG–CAD program helps hospitals increase the use of and adherence to the association's secondary prevention guidelines for coronary artery disease. Developed to assist healthcare professionals follow proven standards and procedures before patients are discharged, GWTG–CAD can help St.Vincent Heart Center of Indiana reduce the risk of recurrent heart attacks and death in treated patients. The program, which works by mobilizing teams in acute care hospitals to implement American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology secondary prevention guidelines, was developed with support from an unrestricted educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc.

GWTG has three modules to help hospitals use evidence–based guidelines to treat patients with coronary artery disease, stroke and/or heart failure. Hospitals that continually meet or exceed the nationally accepted standards, or guidelines, improve their quality patient care by turning guidelines into lifelines. Upon meeting criteria specific to each module, hospitals are recognized for performance achievement if at least 85 percent of their cardiac or stroke patients (without contraindications) are treated and discharged according to the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association's guidelines and recommendations.

According to the American Heart Association, approximately 565,000 people suffer a new heart attack and 300,000 experience a recurrent heart attack each year. Statistics also show that within one year of a heart attack, 18 percent of men and 23 percent of women will die. Within five years after an attack, about 33 percent of men and 43 percent of women will die.

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