What is a Heart Attack
A heart attack (also called AMI or acute myocardial infarction) happens when the arteries leading to the heart become blocked and the blood supply is slowed or stopped. When the heart muscle can’t get the oxygen it needs, the part of the heart tissue that is affected may die.
The symptoms of a heart attack can include:
- chest pain (often described as a crushing, squeezing or burning pain in the center of the chest and may radiate to your arm or jaw)
- shortness of breath
- dizziness or faintness
- sweating
- nausea
- cold or clammy skin
- a gray or very ill appearance
Sometimes there may be no symptoms, especially if you have diabetes. Women sometimes have different symptoms, such as a different kind of chest pain and/or abdominal pain.
For more information about heart health go to:
View other publicly reported data about heart attack care in hospitals:
How is Hillcrest Hospital performing on heart attack care?
Overall Score for Heart Attack Care
This score tells you how many heart attack patients received all of the appropriate care they qualified for.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The Ohio average is the most current available for all hospitals in the state and published at ohiohospitalcompare.ohio.gov. It is the Ohio average for January through December 2008.
Aspirin Given on Arrival
This score tells you the percent of heart attack patients who were given (or took) aspirin within 24 hours of arrival at the hospital.
This information is important because the heart is a muscle that gets oxygen through blood vessels. Sometimes blood clots can block these blood vessels, and the heart can’t get enough oxygen. This can cause a heart attack. Chewing an aspirin as soon as symptoms of a heart attack begin may help reduce the severity of the attack.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Aspirin Prescribed at Discharge
This score tells you the percent of heart attack patients prescribed aspirin at discharge from the hospital. This information is important because blood clots can block blood vessels. Aspirin can help prevent blood clots from forming or help dissolve blood clots that have formed. Following a heart attack, continued use of aspirin may help reduce the risk of another heart attack. Aspirin can have side effects like stomach inflammation, bleeding or allergic reactions. Talk to your health care provider before using aspirin on a regular basis to make sure it’s safe for you.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Medication Given for Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD)
This score tells you the percent of heart attack patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction (LVSD) who were prescribed an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or an angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) medication at discharge from the hospital.
This information is important because ACE inhibitors and ARBs are medicines used to treat patients with heart failure. These drugs can lower blood pressure and make it easier for the heart to pump. ACE inhibitors and ARB medicines are particularly beneficial for those patients with heart failure and decreased function of the left side of the heart. Early treatment with ACE inhibitors and ARBs in patients who have heart failure symptoms or decreased heart function after a heart attack can also reduce their risk of death from future heart attacks. ACE inhibitors and ARBs work by limiting the effects of a hormone that narrows blood vessels, and may lower blood pressure and reduce the work the heart has to perform. Because the ways in which these two kinds of drugs work are different, Your doctor will decide which drug is most appropriate for you. If you have a heart attack and/or heart failure, you should get a prescription for ACE inhibitors or ARBs if you have decreased heart function before you leave the hospital. There may be exceptions.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Smokers Advised to Quit
This score tells you the percent of heart attack patients with a history of smoking cigarettes who received advice before discharge from the hospital on how to quit smoking.
This information is important because smoking increases your risk for developing blood clots and heart disease that can result in a heart attack, heart failure or stroke. Smoking causes your arteries to thicken and your blood vessels to narrow. Fat and plaque stick to the walls of your arteries, which makes it harder for blood to flow. Reduced blood flow to your heart may result in chest pain, high blood pressure and an increased heart rate. Smoking is also linked to lung disease and cancer, and can cause premature early death. It is important that you get information to help you quit smoking before you leave the hospital. Quitting may help prevent another heart attack.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)
Beta Blocker Medication Prescribed at Discharge
This score tells you the percent of heart attack patients prescribed a beta blocker at discharge from the hospital.
This information is important because beta blockers are a type of medicine that is used to lower blood pressure, treat chest pain (angina) and heart failure and to help prevent a heart attack. Beta blockers relieve the stress on your heart by slowing the heart rate and reducing the force with which your heart muscles contract to pump blood. They also help keep blood vessels from constricting in your heart, brain and body. If you have a heart attack, you should get a prescription for a beta blocker before you leave the hospital. There may be exceptions.
Higher percentage is better.
Q = quarter. Example: January - March
* The national average is the most current average available for all hospitals in the United States, and published at www.hospitalcompare.gov. It is the nation-wide average for the twelve months between July 2008 and June 2009. (The national average for earlier time periods may be different.)