If you happen to find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being rushed off to hospital with a suspected heart attack, your chances of survival have significantly increased with the NSW Ambulance Service rolling out world class care for cardiac patients earlier this year.
This new procedure is being delivered by Armidale, Walcha and Guyra Paramedics and is called Pre-Hospital Thrombolysis or PHT.
Most ambulances are equipped to deliver the procedure, with the treatment aimed at patients suffering heart attack symptoms. Under the program, paramedics are able to deliver life-saving medications (Thrombolysis or clot busting) to the patient before reaching hospital. No time is lost before accessing definitive care and patients, once Thrombolysed, are delivered to hospital for further care of their heart attack.
Armidale Station Manager, Paramedic Scott Oldman, says his paramedics in Armidale have used the LifePak 15 monitors for patients with chest pain symptoms but have yet to deliver the life-saving medication.
“Our new LifePak 15 monitors are able to perform full 12-lead electrocardiograms, or ECG,” said Scott.
“If the ECG shows an acute change, suggestive of a heart attack, the ECG is transmitted to a Cardiologist at Tamworth Hospital, who will call us back to confirm the diagnosis.
“Once this occurs we are able to deliver the clot busting medication to help restore blood flow to damaged heart muscle.”
So far the medication has been delivered to one patient in Walcha and one in Manilla.
“We can now get to definitive care quicker by bringing this equipment to their house, or farm or to the side of the road,” said Scott Oldman.
“Before, we had to transfer patients to the emergency department, where the definitive treatment began; now definitive care starts when we turn up to your address, when you call us about chest pain.”
Scott and his team at the Armidale Ambulance Station believe it is vitally important to call triple zero (000) as soon as symptoms begin.
“The sooner we diagnose, the sooner we can treat and the more we can save someone’s heart muscle by administering these drugs,” said Scott.
Story: Jo Harrison
