Murray, Utah (ABC4) – Intermountain Medical Center in Murray has the nation’s highest survival rate for heart attack patients, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Intermountain, along with Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and NYU Langone Hospital in New York City, all have the highest 30-day survival rate in the nation for hospitalized patients.
CMS collected provider-level data on complication measures, reviewed CMS Patient Safety Indicators, and analyzed 30-day death rates for hospitals across the nation to rank the top 10 medical centers.
“We’re really proud of this achievement,” said Kent Meredith, MD, an interventional cardiologist at Intermountain Medical Center who helps lead the heart attack treatment program at the hospital. “CMS is a government agency that tracks healthcare outcomes, so it’s free of the biases that can be seen by other reports from internal data. This data shows very directly that patients who were treated at Intermountain Medical Center have the highest percentage of surviving after a heart attack compared to all other hospitals in the United States.”
Intermountain cardiologists credit their success to rapid treatment and a multi-disciplinary approach to patient care. It includes working closely with first responders, ER personnel, and additional medical providers who are mobilized to treat patients suspected of having a heart attack.
Trey O’Neal, MD, one of the lead physicians on staff at Intermountain Medical Center, points out the team’s long-standing commitment to quality of care above all else for those who work with heart attack patients.
“Many cardiovascular programs, both locally and around the country, place other things before quality, so our foremost dedication to the most appropriate care is unique at Intermountain Medical Center, and that commitment shows in our outcomes,” said Dr. O’Neal.
Time is a critical factor in heart attack survival. Awareness of symptoms by patients, bystanders, first responders, hospital emergency department staff, and a dedicated and experienced heart attack treatment team at the hospital, is crucial. There is a dedicated heart attack treatment process in place at Intermountain Medical Center including a specialized team waiting to provide treatment.
“Early symptom recognition by patients will decrease their risk for heart failure and, more importantly, save their lives,” said Dr. O’Neal. “Sudden chest pain/pressure, shortness of breath, severe heartburn, radiating jaw pain or arm numbness are some of the common symptoms that should make people think about a heart attack. We would rather people call 911 or come to the ER than remain at home wondering whether they are having a heart attack. You won’t die of embarrassment if nothing is wrong, but you most certainly can die of a heart attack.”
The top ten hospitals in the nation with the highest survival rates (measured as lowest death rates), for hospitalized heart attack patients, according to CMS, are:
1. Intermountain Medical Center (Murray, UT): 8.9
1. Mayo Clinic Hospital (Rochester, MN): 8.9
1. NYU Langone Hospitals (New York City): 8.9
4. Cedars-Sinai Medical Center (Los Angeles): 9.2
4. Medstar Washington Hospital Center (Washington, DC): 9.2
4. New York-Presbyterian Hospital (New York City): 9.2
7. Abbott Northwestern Hospital (Minneapolis, MN): 9.3
8. Riverside Methodist Hospital (Columbus, OH): 9.4
9. Jersey Shore University Medical Center (Neptune, NJ): 9.5
10. Stanford University Health Care (CA): 9.6
