Team effort by Manassas EMTs and Novant Cath Lab
On June 13, Fire and Rescue units from the City of Manassas responded to a call for service at a local urgent care facility. A 44-year-old male patient came to the facility around 2 p.m. seeking treatment for severe chest pain and needed to be transported to a hospital emergency room. The urgent care doctor administered nitroglycerin to the patient prior to the medics’ arrival.
City medics started an IV and administered additional medications to help stabilize the patient. They then evaluated the patient’s electrocardiogram (EKG) and recognized a characteristic change that indicates a life-threatening cardiac event called STEMI. Using the Lifenet System purchased less than two months ago by Novant Health (previously Prince William Hospital), medics transmitted the EKG results to Novant alerting them to the patient’s condition.
STEMI is an acronym meaning “ST segment elevation myocardial infarction,” which is the type of heart attack. Myocardial infarctions
suddenly becomes at least partially blocked by a blood clot. As a result, virtually all the heart muscle being supplied by the affected artery starts to die, according to a mews release from Patty Prince, the city’s communications director.
Within ten minutes of arriving at the emergency room, the patient was being treated in Novant-Prince William Hospital’s Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory for a blocked artery in his heart. The patient is on his way to a 100% recovery with no significant damage to his heart, according to Prince.
City of Manassas Medics having been working with hospital staff to better prepare for situations such as this and to get patients the needed emergency care in the fastest possible way.
The City of Manassas Fire and Rescue Department wants to remind residents that if you are suffering from chest pains, call 9-1-1 immediately. Don’t wait, it could save your life.
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