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News Details (Posted: January 9, 2008):
Sanford EMS: Working to Save More Lives
Full Description:
The American Heart Association
lists coronary heart disease as the
Number one killer in America.
Strokes are the Number three killer.
There are approximately 1.2 million
heart attacks in the United States
every year, and almost 40% die.
700,000 people suffer a new or recurrent
stroke every year.
The Sanford Fire Department,
under the Medical Direction of Dr.
Todd Husty, is taking steps to reduce
your risk of dying or being disabled
due to a heart attack or stroke.
For heart attacks, Dr. Husty has
enacted the ST Elevation Myocardial
Infarction, or STEMI protocol.
STEMI is a common type of heart
attack easily recognized on a 12-Lead
electrocardiogram and is usually the
result of blocked blood vessels in the
heart. Research shows the best treatment
is insertion of a catheter into the
heart to clear the blockage. Research
also shows that the best survival rates
occur when this treatment is administered
within 90 minutes of when the
patient enters the ER, commonly
called the door-to-cath time.
With training, Paramedics can interpret
a 12-Lead EKG and provide early
notification to the hospital. A properly
trained Paramedic can call the hospital
emergency room and advise
them that the patient is a “STEMI
Alert.”
The Sanford Fire Department has
received training and has the necessary
tools to recognize STEMI and
play an important role in reducing the
time it takes for a patient to receive
definitive care.
For a stroke, all Sanford Fire
Department personnel have completed
the University of Miami’s
“Advanced Stroke Life Support”
course, which allows crews to quickly
recognize signs and symptoms of a
stroke in order to administer clotbusting
medications.
Emergency responders can perform
basic treatment at the scene and then
rapidly transport that patient to a
Stroke Center hospital, where additional
treatment options are available.
This is a big difference from even as
little as five years ago. At that time,
patients suffering from a stroke had
few treatment options and many times
a stroke diagnosis meant lifetime disabilities.
Help us, help you. The Sanford Fire
Department has available the “File of
Life.” The File of Life is an information
packet that you can fill out with
medical and contact information.
If you have to call 911, you can provide
this packet to the crew to give
them much of the information they
need. These are available at the main
fire station located at 1303 S. French
Ave.
