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Monongahela Valley Hospital Receives the American Heart Association's Mission: Lifeline Designation

You have pains in your chest, nausea, and shortness of breath. Are you having a heart attack? These symptoms mimic many other disorders, but if you are having a heart attack every minute counts and you need medical care immediately. Residents of the Mon Valley can feel secure in knowing that Monongahela Valley Hospital can perform timely emergency coronary intervention (PCI) which is the placement of coronary stents in clogged arteries. In fact, MVH has taken the added step to seek and receive the American Heart Association’s (AHA) Mission: Lifeline® certification.

MVH is one of only four medical facilities in Western Pennsylvania, and the only hospital in Washington County, that is a designated as a Mission: Lifeline facility and which provides emergency PCI. MVH and all Mission: Lifeline hospitals meet rigid guidelines for the provision of heart care services.

To help expedite the care for cardiac patients, the AHA established the Mission: Lifeline program. The Mission: Lifeline designation is only given to hospitals, which have the ability to provide comprehensive heart care, including MVH.

“In situations when a patient is experiencing symptoms associated with a heart attack, there are established Department of Health Statewide Protocols that the EMS (Emergency Medical Services) are required to follow. By obtaining designation by the American Heart Association Mission: Lifeline program, MVH is qualified to accept these patients,” said Linda Zidek, RN, MVH’s Pre-Hospital coordinator. “Our physicians and emergency heart catheterization lab are available to provide treatment to patients 24/7 thus enabling MVH to work together with the EMS under a shared set of national guidelines. Our underlying goal is to provide a cardiac system of care that will save lives and enhance the health of the residents of the mid-Mon Valley area.”

According to the AHA, every year nearly 400,000 people experience heart attacks. When a heart attack strikes, it is crucial that blood flow be restored to the heart in a timely manner. The more time it takes to restore blood flow to an ailing artery means the loss of critical heart muscle. The AHA established 90 minutes as the standard of care for what is called the “door to balloon time.” The ability to open a blocked artery within 90 minutes is considered the highest standard of care for the best possible outcomes. Monongahela Valley Hospital meets the door to balloon time standards.

“Monongahela Valley Hospital is committed to providing the residents of the Mon Valley and surrounding regions with the latest advancements in health care and the Mission: Lifeline designation is the American Heart Association’s stamp of approval that we meet or exceed the national standards for emergency cardiac care,” said Mrs. Zidek.