BIRMINGHAM, AL — In order to improve care for patients suffering major heart attacks, Trinity Medical Center installed the LIFENET® RS receiving station,developed by Physio-Control, Inc in the emergency department. The LIFENET system is especially beneficial for patients who experience a heart attack caused by a total or nearblockage of a major artery to the heart (known in medical circles as a “STEMI,” or ST elevation myocardial infarction). According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 500,000 Americans each year experience this type of heart attack.

“By having this receiving station in our emergency department we can greatly improve the time to treatment for STEMI and patients with other acute heart problems,” says John Croushorn, MD, Medical Director for the Emergency Department at Trinity Medical Center. “This system enables hospital staff to read 12-lead ECGs transmitted by emergency medical services staff from the LIFEPAK 12 defibrillator in the field.”

LIFENET RS Receiving Station also interfaces with the hospital’s cardiology management system and allows the emergency department physician to compare and
contrast the patient’s previous ECGs to the newly received field data. “This helps reduce the time it takes to diagnose the problem,” says Croushorn. “Since time is muscle when it’s a heart attack, this is very important in helping improve the care of patients experiencing heart attacks and other acute heart conditions.”