Faster treatment for heart attacks

Activase, the clot-busting drug often used for heart attack patients, can be a lifesaver when administered quickly.

But at $4,000 a dose, it’s too expensive to use indiscriminately, even if there weren’t potential health risks. For rural patients, the delay between time of attack and arrival at the hospital for proper diagnosis can be the difference between life and death.

Now, a new pilot program lets ambulances in Washington and Benton counties carry Activase in their drug inventories. If a physician prescribes the drug, paramedics can administer it immediately, meaning patients get relief faster — and lose less heart muscle — than they would if the drug weren’t administered until they reached the hospital.

That’s possible because the ambulances now have equipment that lets the paramedics do electrocardiograms, commonly called ECGs, in the field. The portable equipment isn’t necessarily lightweight at about 35 pounds per unit, but a single unit replaces what formerly required four bulky machines. Paramedics responding to a patient with a possible heart attack can do the test at the patient’s home and send the ECG by telephone to Washington Regional Medical Center’s emergency room. There, physicians receive the test results by fax and make their diagnosis.

Called the Pre-Hospital ECG Project or PEP, the project involves Madison County Medical Service, Central Emergency Medical Service, Washington Regional and the Arkansas Department of Health. The project was able to buy the ECG machines for about $13,400 each to equip nine Washington County ambulances and two Madison County vehicles. Donations from individuals and businesses paid for eight of the units.