ARLINGTON, Texas — With heart disease being the leading cause of death in the United States, Texas Health Resources is addressing the problem with quality, science-based guidelines for treating heart attack patients. This focus on quality care helped seven Texas Health facilities earn this year’s American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) Chest Pain – MI Registry Performance Achievement Award.

Brandon Hill, M.D., a cardiothoracic surgeon on the medical staff at Texas Health Dallas, performs a heart procedure in the hospital’s operating room.

The national award annually recognizes hospitals that provide a high standard of care for patients suffering a heart attack, which is when a blood clot in a coronary artery blocks blood flow to the heart.

“When it comes to compassionately addressing the needs of patients and partnering with North Texans for a lifetime of health and well-being, national recognition is never our driving factor for success,” said Kirk King, Texas Health’s executive vice president and Hospital Channel chief operating officer. “Our motivation is fueled by the desire to provide patients with the necessary resources to get them back to enjoying life as quickly as possible.”

The award also confirms that the recognized facility has reached an aggressive goal of treating patients as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations. Detailed guidelines include giving aspirin to heart attack patients upon arrival and discharge in the ER, timely restoration of blood flow to a blocked artery, smoking cessation counseling and cardiac rehabilitation.

According to statistics published this year by the American Heart Association, more than 365,700 Americans died of heart disease in 2018. Delving closer to home, recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported more than 46,100 Texans lost their battle against heart disease in 2019.

“As the nation continues to watch COVID-19 cases decline, we still want North Texans to remain vigilant regarding serious medical conditions, such as heart attacks,” said Sunita Koshy-Nesbitt, M.D., MBA, Texas Health’s Hospital Channel chief quality officer. “We don’t want people losing their lives by ignoring the signs and symptoms of heart disease. We’re committed to providing North Texans with quality cardiac care, each and every day.”

With more than 400 facilities recognized across the country this year (with Platinum serving as the highest level*), seven of those recipients are Texas Health hospitals located throughout North Texas:

Platinum recipients

• Texas Health Heart & Vascular Hospital Arlington (joint venture) – Platinum Performance Achievement Award
• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton – Platinum Performance Achievement Award
• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford – Platinum Performance Achievement Award
• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano – Platinum Performance Achievement Award

Silver recipients

• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas – Silver Performance Achievement Award
• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth – Silver Performance Achievement Award
• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth – Silver Performance Achievement Award

A complete list of this year’s recipients will be highlighted in September for the U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Hospitals” edition as well as the September issue of Cardiology magazine. To learn more about customized treatment options at various Texas Health facilities, please click on heart and vascular services.

* The performance award has three categories, with Platinum being the highest form of recognition:

• Platinum:  Eight consecutive quarters (2019 and 2020) performing at the highest level of standards for specific performance measures (the most comprehensive monitoring tool and the highest level of participation for performance improvement and performance achievement)
• Gold: Eight consecutive quarters (2019 and 2020) performing at the top level of standards for specific performance measures (limited data collection designed for hospitals unable to participate in the full data analysis)
• Silver: Four consecutive quarters (during 2020) performing with distinction for specific performance measures