Billings Clinic Among Top for Heart Attack Patients

Billings Clinic Among Top for Heart Attack Patients

Billings Clinic has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR ACTION Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2018. Billings Clinic is one of only 203 hospitals nationwide, out of more than 1,000 in the ACTION Registry and more than 5,500 total in the U.S., to receive the honor.

The award recognizes Billings Clinic’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that Billings Clinic has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.

“Billings Clinic has shown it is a leader in implementing standards of care and protocols for its patients,” said Deepak L. Bhatt, MD, MPH, FACC, Chair, ACTION Registry, in a news release.

Billings Clinic is also the only accredited Chest Pain Center with Primary PCI and Resuscitation in Montana and Wyoming. This recognition, given by the American College of Cardiology, is based on rigorous onsite evaluations of staff’s ability to evaluate, diagnose and treat patients with chest pain or those who may be experiencing a heart attack. The accreditation includes the combined efforts of the entire cardiology department, the emergency department, the intensive care unit, the cardiovascular unit, MedFlight, regional partners, and other organizations.

At Billings Clinic – the largest health care system in Montana – that standard of care means helping to raise awareness and continuing to provide a year-round, complete heart care program for thousands of patients across the region.

This robust program includes an experienced team of cardiologists, surgeons, technologists and more; cutting-edge technology and other resources to provide comprehensive diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation to patients and their heart health.

According to the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, heart disease causes one in four deaths every year in America, making it the leading cause of death among men and women. There’s never a wrong time to start learning about and putting into place a heart-healthy lifestyle. A few ways to control and prevent risk of heart disease include:

• Watch your weight.

• Quit smoking and stay away from secondhand smoke.

• Control your cholesterol and blood pressure.

• If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation.

• Get active and eat healthy.

More than 730,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort. A heart attack occurs when a blood clot in a coronary artery partially or completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscle. Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is a non-surgical procedure to open narrowed or blocked coronary arteries using a balloon or a stent in order to relieve heart disease symptoms or reduced damage from a heart attack.

For more information on Billings Clinic and its heart care program, call (406) 238-2000 or visit www.billingsclinic.com/heart.