Aspirus Wausau Hospital (AWH) has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2019. AWH is one of only 225 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.

The award recognizes AWH’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that AWH has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.

To receive the Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, AWH has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain  ̶   MI Registry for eight consecutive quarters and has performed at the top-level of standards for specific performance measures. Full participation in the registry engages hospitals in a robust quality improvement process using data to drive improvements in adherence to guideline recommendations and overall quality of care provided to heart attack patients.

“As a Platinum Performance Award recipient, AWH has established itself as a leader in setting the national standard for improving quality of care in patients with acute myocardial infarction,” said Michael C. Kontos, MD, FACC, chair of the NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Steering Subcommittee, Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center. “By meeting the award requirements set forth in the registry, AWH has demonstrated a commitment to providing reliable, comprehensive treatment for heart attack patients based on current clinical guideline recommendations.”

The Center for Disease Control estimates that over 700,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. A heart attack occurs when a blood clot in a coronary artery partially or completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscle. Treatment guidelines include administering aspirin upon arrival and discharge, timely restoration of blood flow to the blocked artery, smoking cessation counseling and cardiac rehabilitation, among others.

“The experience of a heart attack has a huge impact on one’s life,” says German Larrain, MD, medical director of Aspirus Heart & Vascular. “The cardiovascular team at Aspirus Wausau Hospital is deeply committed to providing the most comprehensive heart care from the moment a patient comes into the door to support long after they go home. We are very proud to receive NCDR’s Platinum Performance Achievement Award.”

Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry empowers health care provider teams to consistently treat heart attack patients according to the most current, science-based guidelines and establishes a national standard for understanding and improving the quality, safety and outcomes of care provided for patients with coronary artery disease, specifically high-risk heart attack patients.