People suffering a heart attack in Clark County have a bit of luck on their side. That's because Southwest Washington Medical Center is among the nation's elite hospitals in practicing the rapid response and treatment of heart attack patients.

Southwest is one of only 7% of hospitals nationwide that demonstrates a streamlined approach to treating heart attacks between emergency responders, the emergency department, and interventional cardiology teams. What this illustrates is the importance of calling 911 right away because a patient who is diagnosed at the scene can be met at the hospital by the cardiac team and taken directly into the catheterization lab.

'We have been working hard over the years to expedite rapid triage and treatment starting with pre-hospital EMS care all the way through emergent care at the hospital' explains Michael Ontkean, MD, Cascade Heart, PS. 'By utilizing a multi-system approach, we have been able to consistently provide superior cardiac service for our heart attack patients'.

According to national guidelines, heart attack patients should be in the catheterization labs and undergoing an angioplasty or other interventional procedure within the first 90 minutes of arrival at the hospital for the best results. Only 25% of hospitals in the United States-including Southwest-are equipped to do emergency angioplasties. Southwest's average time is consistently under 90 minutes. And in situations where the patient is brought in by ambulance, the average time to intervention is drastically reduced to an average of 61 minutes.

The effort to be successful becomes even more impressive when you consider Emergency staff at Southwest evaluates over 200 patients daily, many with chest pain. When it's the real deal, every second counts. So take this lesson to heart-even if you're not sure you're having a heart attack, have it checked out. Calling 9-1-1 is the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment.