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“Our two organizations
have a very close
relationship, and we
constantly work together
to evaluate and improve
response time,” said
Linda Allington, RN, MPH,
emergency medical
services (EMS) manager for
the Carlsbad Fire Department.
From Rescue to Recovery
In Demetros’ case, fast communication
meant that when his ambulance pulled
up outside the Tri-City emergency
department at about 11:20 a.m., a
cardiologist—Dr. Paul Sarkaria—had
already been notified and was waiting.
Demetros went right into the cardiac
catheterization lab for angioplasty—a
was nearly normal. Demetros had come
through his heart attack and procedure
with little or no heart damage.
“My wife and I were both amazed
by this outcome and impressed with
the cardiac staff at Tri-City,” he said.
Superior Heart Care
In fact, the cardiac care at Tri-City has
impressed many people. That’s why
it’s a designated STEMI (heart attack)
Receiving Center and a nationally
accredited Chest Pain Center.
In addition, Tri-City is nationally
certified by the American Association
of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary
Rehabilitation (AACVPR).
People with certain heart symptoms
who call 911 are transported to a STEMI
Receiving Center, such as Tri-City, and
put in the hands of the treatment team.
The team’s job is to get patients from
the emergency department door into
the cardiovascular catheterization lab
for angioplasty as fast as possible. Quick
door-to-balloon time—as it is called—is
crucial because the longer blood flow
to the heart is blocked, the greater the
damage to the heart muscle.
“Tri-City consistently exceeds the
national average of 90 minutes for
door-to-balloon time,” said Dr. Slowik.
“In the case of Mr. Demetros, the time
was an astounding 31 minutes.”
ROAD TO RECOVERY LEADS
TO THE WELLNESS CENTER
Despite having little or no damage to his heart, Tom Demetros still
needed to recover from his heart attack and get his health back on track.
Coincidentally, the doctor who first responded to Demetros’ crisis would
be the one to lead him through recovery.
Dr. Sharon Slowik oversees a highly educated rehab staff—specially
trained to work with heart patients—at the Wellness Center and the
Oceanside campus. She helped direct Demetros’ rehab program, which
included fitness, nutrition and heart health education.
“The people at Tri-City are so caring and understanding,” Demetros
said. “I feel like they are not just going along taking care of people, but
they are looking at the possibilities of what can be and trying to attain
those higher goals.”
procedure in which
a thin catheter with a
tiny balloon on its tip is
guided into a blocked
artery. The balloon is
inflated, clearing the
blockage and restoring
blood flow to the heart.
A metal stent is then put
in place to help keep the artery open.
Once the procedure was over,
Demetros was taken to a hospital
room. The clock read 11:59.
“I was thinking that I couldn’t believe
this just happened,” he recalled. “In
the course of an hour’s time, my life
literally passed before me.”
When the nurse came intoDemetros’
room at dinnertime to check on him,
she looked at his EKG and found that it
Tri-City Medical Center has
an extensive cardiac rehab
facility at the Wellness
Center in Carlsbad and on
the campus of the medical
center in Oceanside.
For more information
about either facility, call
760.940.3098
.
Dr. Paul Sarkaria
Fall 2012
|
Healthy You
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