St. Francis Hospital has consistently exceeded the national standard set by the American College of Cardiology (ACC) for the time it takes from a heart attack patient’s arrival in the hospital’s Emergency Room to the time the patient’s artery is opened up by balloon angioplasty. Referred to as door-to-balloon time, St. Francis’ most recent data shows a median of 83.5 minutes in July and August 2006, seven minutes faster than ACC’s new standard of 90 minutes set in June 2006; the previous standard was 120 minutes.
St. Francis is able to beat the national standard by employing four measures, including:
• Strong teamwork with Emergency Medical Services (EMS) (Advance notification from EMS telling St. Francis that a patient has ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEM I), that an electrocardiogram shows that the patient is suffering a heart attack, and that Emergency Department physicians and staff should prepare for an angioplasty)
• Creation of a core team of Emergency Department and Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory nurses that are continuously ready to get patients to the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory faster
• Arranging for a cardiologist to be available to respond at all times
• Giving immediate feedback to cardiologists and staff on how well they are doing on cases
 In the case of a heart attack, more rapid care is better care. The saying, “Time is muscle,” means that the faster blood flow is restored, the better the patient’s chance of a full and rapid recovery. Angioplasty is the optimal treatment to open blocked vessels and restore blood flow in heart attack patients if performed in a timely manner after the onset of symptoms, according to the Journals of the American Heart Association. St. Francis continues to seek way to provide faster treatment during and immediately after a heart attack.