If you’re experiencing signs and symptoms of a heart attack, call 911 immediately.
Cardiovascular diseases claim more lives each year than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined, according to the American Heart Association. Texas Health is committed to providing quality heart attack care in the communities we serve. This means meeting stringent standards and following strict guidelines established by organizations like the American Heart Association and The Joint Commission to improve quality of care and outcomes in heart attack patients. It also means effective and constant communication in the field with first responders to achieve accurate heart attack diagnoses and being prepared for patients even before they enter through our hospital doors.
Recognition for Quality Heart Attack Care
Key characteristics of the Primary Heart Attack Center Program include:
- Focusing on symptom onset and first medical contact (pre-hospital and upon arrival), emergency medical services, catheterization laboratories and inpatient settings
- Providing continuous on-site PCI coverage for STEMI patients
- Keeping door-to-balloon (D2B) times within 90 minutes or less, per guidelines from the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association
Texas Health Dallas has earned The Joint Commission’s Gold Seal of Approval® and the American Heart Association’s Heart-Check mark for Comprehensive Heart Attack Center Certification and was the first facility in Texas and the fourth hospital in the nation to receive this level of certification.
Key characteristics of the Comprehensive Heart Attack Center Program include:
- Meeting several performance measures, including administering an electrocardiogram within 10 minutes of a patient’s arrival. The non-invasive diagnostic test evaluates the heart's electrical system to check for disease
- Providing continuous on-site PPCI coverage, along with offering a multidisciplinary approach to treating critically ill patients (i.e., patients suffering from cardiogenic shock and cardiac arrest)
- Keeping door-to-balloon (D2B) times within 90 minutes or less, per guidelines from the American College of Cardiology
The door-to-balloon time references the critical moments between a patient’s arrival at the hospital to when they undergo a PCI procedure in the cardiac catheterization lab and blood flow is restored to the patient’s heart when a tiny balloon on the end of the catheter is inflated, pushing open the clogged artery.
Comprehensive Heart Attack Centers
Primary Heart Attack Centers
Many Texas Health hospitals and joint ventures have also been recognized by the American Heart Association for their advanced care of heart attack patients. The awards for heart attack care are based on participation and achievement in the Mission: Lifeline program (subcategorized by STEMI and NSTEMI). STEMI stands for ST elevation myocardial infarction, a lethal type of heart attack that involves full blockage of the coronary artery. NSTEMI is a non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction, which is normally less damaging to the heart and is a partial blockage of the coronary artery or blockage of a minor heart blood vessel. The AHA awards recognize the Texas Health facilities for their commitment to heart attack treatment guidelines and quality improvement.
2024 Mission: Lifeline (STEMI) Award Recipients
- Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital — Bronze Referring Center Plus
- Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Alliance — Gold Receiving Center
- Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth — Gold Receiving Center Plus
- Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford — Gold Receiving Center
- Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest Fort Worth — Gold Receiving Center Plus
- Texas Health Heart & Vascular Hospital Arlington — Gold Receiving Center Plus
- Texas Health Hospital Frisco — Silver Receiving Center Plus
- Texas Health Huguley Hospital Fort Worth South — Gold Receiving Center Plus
- Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Allen — Silver Receiving Center Plus
- Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton — Gold Receiving Center Plus
- Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Flower Mound — Bronze Referring Center
- Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano — Gold Receiving Center Plus
2024 Get With The Guidelines Coronary Artery Disease (NSTEMI) Award Recipients
- Texas Health Allen — Bronze
- Texas Health Alliance — Gold
- Texas Health Denton — Gold
- Texas Health Fort Worth — Gold
- Texas Health Frisco — Bronze
- Texas Health Heart & Vascular Arlington — Gold
- Texas Health HEB — Gold
- Texas Health Huguley — Gold
- Texas Health Plano — Gold
- Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas — Gold
- Texas Health Southwest — Gold
2024 Get With The Guidelines Rural Coronary Artery Disease Award Recipients
- Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Cleburne — Silver award, NSTE-ACS
- Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Stephenville — Silver award, STEMI
These recognitions reflect our dedication to providing advanced, quality heart and vascular care throughout North Texas.