Heart Attack Patients Given PCI within 90 Minutes of Arrival

What Does This Measure?

The percentage of eligible heart attack patients who received percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) within 90 minutes of their arrival at the hospital. The term PCI can refer to angioplasty, stenting, or artherectomy.

Why Is This Important?

Heart attacks often occur when blood clots cause blockages in blood vessels, depriving the heart of sufficient oxygen. PCI procedures open blocked vessels and help prevent further damage to the heart.

They can also increase a patient’s chance of surviving a heart attack. The earlier PCI is performed, the more effective it is in improving patient outcomes.

What Are We Doing to Improve Our Performance?

Duke has enacted several initiatives to improve our performance. These include:

• PCI protocol for eligible heart attack patients
  
• Evidence-based medicine
• Computerized physician order entry (CPOE)
• Standardized order sets
• Electronic medical records (EMR)
• Six Sigma and DMAIC (define, measure, analyze, improve, and control process) methodologies
• Emergency Department nursing and physician education
• Patient safety and clinical quality committees
• Heart attack-specific patient education information
• Patient advocacy and support groups

More Information

• See more heart attack quality measures
• See all performance measures
• Compare Duke to other North Carolina hospitals at NC Hospital Quality Report
• Compare Duke to regional and national hospitals at Hospital Quality Alliance's Hospital Compare