NEW SERVICE FOR HEART ATTACK PATIENTS

New service launched for heart attack patients


01/10/2009


More than 87 patients from across Essex and from as far away as Hertfordshire have been treated in the first month since emergency primary angioplasty was launched for heart attack patients.
The very first patient to benefit from the life-saving service has been praising medical staff. “Everyone, from the ambulance crews to the doctors and nurses at Basildon University Hospital, has been fantastic,” 71-year-old John Davies said. “Without them I wouldn’t be alive.”
Primary angioplasty (or PPCI) is a specialised treatment used on patients suffering a certain type of heart attack, when the artery supplying the heart with blood and oxygen is completely blocked. The treatment involves a small balloon being inflated inside a blocked artery to widen it and restore the blood flow. Although angioplasty has been available to patients as a planned procedure for some time, this is the first time heart attack patients in Essex are being taken by ambulance to The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre (CTC) to have the procedure carried out straight away.
Early on the morning of Tuesday 1 September, clinicians around Essex were ready to put the new ‘PPCI pathway’ into action as soon as the need arose. Meanwhile, John Davies was washing windows outside his home in Clacton when he started to feel unwell.
“I didn’t feel quite right,” he said. “I started to sweat, so I went inside and sat with a cold flannel, but I was still sweating. Finally, I woke up my wife and called the ambulance service. I remember the ambulance crews looking after me, and I remember being in the back of the ambulance. The next thing I knew I was at the centre in Basildon.”
Sarah Hawkins, the East of England Ambulance Service’s cardiac lead for Essex and Herts, said: “The ambulance crews are the first point of contact, and it’s up to them to diagnose what type of heart attack the patient has suffered. In John’s case, the crew were Marcus Taylor and Jo Noakes, who did an excellent job assessing John and stabilising his condition before taking him to The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre.”
The ambulance service control room called the PPCI hotline at The CTC to tell staff that John was on his way, so as soon as the ambulance arrived the medical team was ready and John was taken straight into a specialist procedure room.
One of John’s coronary arteries was completely blocked, so doctors performed the primary angioplasty procedure while John was sedated, to unblock the artery.
“I woke up in the ward when it was all over, and I actually didn’t feel too bad,” John said. “The staff really looked after me, and I was able to have my family to visit.”
After an initial period of recovery and observation in one of The CTC’s wards, John was transferred by ambulance to Colchester General Hospital. He was able to go home only a few days later.
“Of course I have ups and downs,” he said. “But considering what happened, I’m just so happy to be here! It’s amazing to think how many people were involved in making sure I got the treatment I needed so quickly.”
Dr Paul Kelly, Lead Consultant Cardiologist, said: “Primary angioplasty is shown to have a better clinical outcome for patients who have this type of heart attack, with less risk of future strokes or heart attacks. Previously the patient would have received clot busting drugs and, if necessary, undergone angioplasty a few days later. We are pleased that all patients in Essex can now benefit from this service.”