Our Chest Pain Accreditation

Scottsdale Healthcare realizes that rapid recognition and treatment of a heart attack saves lives. Accredited as a Cycle II designated Chest Pain Center by the Society of Chest Pain Centers, our staff and physicians are trained in the most current processes to recognize and treat heart attacks. In under 90 minutes from the time a patient enters one of our facilities our cardiologists can restore blood flow to the heart. After all - Time is muscle.

Heart Attack Simply Put 

In short, a heart attack occurs when one or more regions of the heart muscle experience a severe or prolonged lack of oxygen caused by blocked blood flow to that heart muscle. 

Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) 

Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) a set of signs and symptoms related to the heart. ACS is compatible with a diagnosis of an acute myocardial infarction, also known as a heart attack. 

The sub-types of acute coronary syndrome are unstable angina (UA, not associated with heart muscle damage), and two forms of myocardial infarction (MI), in which heart muscle is damaged. These types are named according to the appearance of the elcectrocardiogram (ECG/EKG) as non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). There can be some variation as to which forms of MI are classified under acute coronary syndrome. 

STEMI & NSTEMI – On the basis of the ECG, a distinction is made between ST elevation MI (STEMI) or non-ST elevation MI (NSTEMI). Most cases of STEMI are treated with thrombolysis or, if possible, with pertcutaneous coronary intervention (PCI, angioplasty and stent insertion) provided the hospital has facilities for coronary angioplasty. NSTEMI is managed with medication, although PCI often is performed during hospital admission. In patients who have multiple blockages and who are relatively stable, or in a few extraordinary emergency cases, bypass surgery of the blocked coronary artery is an option. 

ACS is not to be confused with stable angina, which develops during exertion and resolves at rest. In contrast with stable angina, unstable angina occurs suddenly, often at rest or with minimal exertion, or at lesser degrees of exertion than the individual's previous angina ("crescendo angina"). New onset angina is also considered unstable angina, since it suggests a new problem in a coronary artery. 

“Door-To-Balloon”(D2B)

“Door-To-Balloon”(D2B) a time measurement in emergency cardiac care (ECC), specifically in the treatment of STEMI, a life-threatening heart attack. The interval starts with the patient's arrival in a Scottsdale Healthcare emergency department and ends when a cardiologist carefully guides a specialized catheter through the heart's affected artery, and inflates a small balloon, thereby restoring precious blood flow to the heart's muscle. 

The cardiologist’s actions are vital, as illustrated by the adage that "time is muscle." It means delays in treating a myocardial infarction increase the likelihood and amount of cardiac damage due to a critical lack of oxygen to the heart from a blocked vessel. 

Together, the American College of Cardiologists and the American Heart Association has developed specialized guidelines which recommend a door-to-balloon interval of no more than 90 minutes. Currently fewer than half of STEMI patients nationally receive reperfusion with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within the recommended time. It has become a core quality measure for many hospitals. 

Scottsdale Healthcare consistently exceeds this national standard of less than 90-minute “door-to-balloon” times, with times near 60-70 minutes.

Bernard J. Villegas, M.D. 

Specializing in both invasive and noninvasive cardiology, Dr. Villegas was a founding member of the Scottsdale Heart Group in 1999. Moving to Arizona in 1995, he became clinical director for cardiology for the Arizona Heart Institute where he also directed the cardiac catheterization lab and the nuclear medicine department. 

Currently the director of the chest pain program at Scottsdale Healthcare, he received his medical degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Dallas. He took postgraduate training at the University of Tennessee and the University of Massachusetts. 

A board certified cardiologist, Dr. Villegas belongs to several medical societies and has written numerous medical abstracts and publications.

Resources

Founded in 1998, the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) is a non-profit international society dedicated to the belief that heart disease can be eliminated as the number one cause of death worldwide. Because we know that time translates to muscle during a heart emergency, the Society bridges EMS, emergency medicine, cardiology, nursing and other professions jointly focused upon improving timely, quality care for cardiac patients. 

In order to disseminate best practices and processes in heart care the Society promotes protocol-based medicine and promotes the adoption of process improvement science by healthcare providers, ideally delivered through a Chest Pain Center model to address acute coronary syndrome.