This one call mobilized multiple care teams. EMS was there in five minutes. Ten minutes later Steve was at the hospital, and within 75 minutes the severe blockage in his artery had been successfully treated. Thanks to immediate action and teamwork, there was no lasting damage to his heart muscle.
If it had been a few years earlier, Steve may have had a much different result.
In 2007, South Carolina hospitals, physicians, emergency medical service providers and others joined forced to dramatically decrease the time it takes to get heart attack patients into treatment.
The results have been outstanding, making it possible for patients such as Steve to get life saving treatment much more quickly.
In 2007, it took an average of 93 minutes to get heart attack patients from the emergency room door to treatment. Today, the average is 46 minutes, a 48 percent improvement.