WFUBMC Heart Center Receives Recognition For Treatment Of Heart Attack Patients

Main Category: Heart Disease
Also Included In: Cardiovascular / Cardiology
Article Date: 22 Sep 2009 - 0:00 PST

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Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center's Heart Center has received the American College of Cardiology Foundation's NCDR ACTION Registry-GWTG Silver Performance Achievement Award for 2009.

The Silver Performance award recognizes commitment and success for implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients during the past year. The award signifies that Wake Forest Baptist's Heart Center has reached an aggressive goal of treating coronary artery disease patients with core standard levels of care outlined by the guidelines and recommendations of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA).

"It is an honor to have Wake Forest Baptist recognized for improving the quality of cardiovascular care for patients who have experienced complications associated with heart disease," said Robert J. Applegate, professor of cardiology at Wake Forest Baptist. The number of acute myocardial infarction patients eligible for treatment is expected to grow due to increasing incidence of heart disease and the large aging population.

"The ACC Foundation and the AHA commend Wake Forest Baptist for its success in implementing standards of care and protocols," said Christopher Cannon, M.D., ACTION Registry-GWTG steering committee chairman, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and associate physician in the Cardiovascular Division at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.

"The full implementation of acute and secondary prevention guideline-recommended therapy is a critical step in saving the lives and improving outcomes of heart attack patients," added Gregg C. Fonarow, M.D., ACTION Registry- GWTG steering committee vice-chairman and director of Ahmanson-UCLA Cardiomyopathy Center.

The registry was created by the merger of the ACC Foundation's NCDRACTION Registry® and the AHA'sGet With The Guidelines-CAD program. The new registry joins the data collection and quality reporting features of the ACTION Registry with the collaborative models, unique tools, and quality improvement techniques of the GWTG-CAD program.

The registry provides guidelines for treating 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.

Source
WFUBMC Heart Center

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