ARLINGTON, Texas — Nine Texas Health hospitals and joint ventures were recently recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for their advanced care of heart attack, heart failure and stroke patients.

Akif Mohammed, M.D., left, a cardiologist on the Texas Health Fort Worth medical staff, performs an angiogram procedure in the hospital’s cath lab, with assistance from Kelvin Omorogbe, a special procedures cardiovascular technician.

All nine facilities were recognized with Mission Lifeline® awards for heart attack treatment, and seven received Get With The Guidelines® awards for stroke and/or heart failure care. Both sets of awards were for data submitted during 2020.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, every 40 seconds, a person in the U.S. has a stroke. That translates into more than 10,700 North Texans passing away in just a year’s time. And when it comes to cardiovascular disease, it claims more lives each year than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined, according to the American Heart Association. By 2030, it’s estimated that more than 22 million Americans will lose their lives to cardiovascular disease.

"With cardiovascular disease being the leading cause of death in North Texas, each national recognition just emphasizes Texas Health's unwavering commitment to treating patients living with chronic diseases," said Kirk King, Texas Health's executive vice president and hospital channel chief operating officer. "During a pandemic and beyond, Texas Health focuses on providing North Texans with resources to treat, manage and possibly prevent cardiovascular disease's threat against an individual’s quality of life."

Reflecting on her time caring for patients as a cardiac electrophysiologist, Sunita Koshy-Nesbitt, M.D., M.B.A., couldn’t agree more.

“It’s imperative for Texas Health to continuously evaluate, implement and assess comprehensive approaches for improving patient care,” said Koshy-Nesbitt, who also serves as chief quality officer for the hospital channel at Texas Health. “Always striving to deliver quality, compassionate care is our motivating factor, and it’s such an honor to be recognized for our efforts.”

The awards for heart attack care were based on participation and achievement in the Mission: Lifeline program (subcategorized by STEMI and NSTEMI). STEMI stands for ST elevation myocardial infarction, a lethal type of heart attack that involves full blockage of the coronary artery. NSTEMI is a non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction, which is normally less damaging to the heart and is a partial blockage of the coronary artery or blockage of a minor heart blood vessel. The AHA awards recognize the Texas Health facilities for their commitment to treatment guidelines and quality improvement for both.

This year's recipients of the Mission: Lifeline (STEMI) award include:

• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas — Gold Plus Receiving award levels
• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton — Gold Plus Receiving award levels
• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth — Gold Plus Receiving award levels
• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford — Gold Plus Receiving award level
• Texas Health Heart & Vascular Hospital Arlington (joint venture) — Gold Plus and Gold Plus Receiving award levels
• Texas Health Huguley Hospital Fort Worth South (joint venture) — Gold Receiving award level
• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano — Gold Plus Receiving award levels
• Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital — Bronze Plus Referring award levels
• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth — Bronze Plus Receiving award level

This year's recipients of the Mission: Lifeline (NSTEMI) award include:

• Texas Health H-E-B — Gold award level
• Texas Health Arlington Memorial — Silver award level
• Texas Health Dallas — Silver award level
• Texas Health Denton — Silver award level
• Texas Health Fort Worth — Silver award level
• Texas Health Heart & Vascular — Silver award level
• Texas Health Huguley — Silver award level
• Texas Health Plano — Silver award level
• Texas Health Southwest — Silver award level

The Get With The Guidelines® awards recognize a hospital's commitment to providing stroke and heart failure treatment according to nationally-recognized, research-based guidelines. The goal is to expedite recovery and reduce hospital readmissions for stroke and heart failure patients. To highlight facilities offering advanced care for patients with heart failure and/or stroke and Type 2 diabetes, the AHA created the Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll in 2019. This recognition allows Get With The Guidelines award recipients to also be acknowledged for compliance measures tailored to patients with Type 2 diabetes.

For the system, this year’s recipient of the Get With The Guidelines Heart Failure award was Texas Health Heart & Vascular Hospital Arlington, earning Gold Plus and Target Heart Failure Honor Roll award levels.

Receiving the Get With The Guidelines Stroke award for 2021 were:

• Texas Health Arlington Memorial — Gold Plus and Target Stroke Elite Honor Roll award levels
• Texas Health Dallas — Gold Plus, Target Stroke Elite Honor Roll and Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award levels
• Texas Health Denton — Gold Plus and Target Stroke Honor Roll and Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award levels
• Texas Health Fort Worth — Gold Plus and Target Stroke Elite Honor Roll award levels
• Texas Health Plano — Gold Plus and Target Stroke Elite Honor Roll award levels
• Texas Health H-E-B — Silver Plus and Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award level

To earn Get With The Guidelines® recognition, hospitals must meet specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke and heart failure patients at a designated level for a set period (24 consecutive months for gold, 12 months for silver and three months for bronze). These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with current, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before leaving the hospital, patients should receive education on managing their health, schedule a follow-up visit, along with providing additional care-transition resources.

“Thanks to the great work being done by hospital staff, including nurses and patient care technicians, along with physicians on the various medical staffs, we’re able to achieve great things,” King said. “That selfless compassion is guided by Our Texas Health Promise: Individuals Caring For Individuals, Together.”