New paramedic program saving lives in Simcoe County

In response to recent studies demonstrating the benefit of emergency angioplasty for heart attack patients, the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services has teamed up with Southlake Regional Health Centre, Royal Victoria and Stevenson Memorial hospitals to launch a new program that ensures individuals suspected of having a heart attack receive the best possible care available.

The project involves transporting eligible Simcoe County residents with suspected heart attacks, as determined by the paramedics, directly to Southlake in Newmarket, where they can immediately undergo an emergency angioplasty procedure.

During a six month pilot program, nine patients were triaged and assessed by paramedics and transferred directly to Southlake. Following their procedure, patients were transferred to their local hospital to rest and rehabilitate with family and friends.

"Paramedics took a leadership role in pushing this program forward," said Andrew Robert, the county's chief of paramedic services. "We are extremely pleased with the success of this partnership, and the county believes this is a great example of how paramedics can make a significant difference in emergency medical care.

"This is a partnership of pre-hospital health care and in-hospital health care which has already proven to be highly valuable and meaningful to the patient. (It) also achieves efficiencies in the overall delivery of health care. With paramedics capitalizing on their training and technical abilities to bring a higher level of care, this is a partnership that enables better care now as well as hope for future partnerships."

A heart attack occurs when blood flow is blocked by an artery clot.

As a result, the heart muscle is deprived of oxygen and begins to die. Immediate restoration of blood flow to the heart muscle is crucial, as irreversible damage can occur within minutes. Emergency treatment, such as angioplasty, can significantly decrease the extent of damage to the heart, if performed in a timely manner.

"Recent studies have shown that angioplasty, a procedure that reopens blocked arteries, is the best emergency treatment for the survival of heart attack patients when performed in a timely manner, particularly for patients who have had pain for more than three hours," says Warren Cantor, an interventional cardiologist at Southlake. "This program allows us to provide the best practice standard of care that is crucial in limiting overall damage to the heart muscle. As a regional centre and leaders in cardiac care, we are pleased to partner with our surrounding hospitals and paramedic services to ensure that all patients are able to receive this lifesaving treatment."

Before this project began, patients suffering from heart attacks were taken to the emergency department of the nearest local hospital, where they were treated with drugs to dissolve clots and reduce the amount of heart muscle damage.

However, research findings have shown these drugs are not always successful in restoring blood flow, especially when the artery has been occluded for more than three hours. Patients who receive immediate angioplasty experience higher survival rates and lower rates of stroke and a repeat heart attack.

To be eligible for the program, paramedics must determine that the patient has been experiencing signs and symptoms consistent with a heart attack for over three hours.

Patients must also be within a 45 minute drive of Southlake.