HEART ATTACK Procedure will likely increase

Twenty heat-attack patients have been treated at the hospital so far.
CINCINNATI (AP) -- A pilot program in Ohio could increase the availability of an emergency procedure that uses a tiny balloon to open clogged arteries in heart attack victims.
Cincinnati's Mercy Franciscan Hospital Mount Airy is the first in the state to get a waiver to perform emergency balloon angioplasty without an open-heart surgery program.
Since November, 20 heart attack patients have been treated at Mercy Mount Airy, with no deaths reported. Five other Ohio hospitals also have received state waivers, but have not yet treated patients.
Until now, state regulations have required that hospitals performing angioplasty treatments also be equipped for open-heart surgery in case something goes wrong.
In an angioplasty, doctors insert a catheter through blood vessels to the blocked artery and inflate a tiny balloon to force open the blockage.
If the project succeeds, the state regulations could be changed to allow smaller suburban hospitals to treat heart attack patients in this way.
Long-term damage
Dr. Zubair Haq, who leads the program at Mercy Mount Airy, said too many heart attack victims suffer needless long-term heart damage because it takes about three hours, on average, to transfer a patient from a community hospital to a heart center.
"In cardiac care, time is muscle. So the need is to open a blocked artery as soon as possible," Haq said.
The state Health Department plans to gather two to three years of data from several hospitals before making a decision on the program, said Christine Kenney, the department's health services policy specialist.
If the project saves lives and reduces disability, the department would seek changes in state law to allow other community hospitals to provide similar services, she said.
Critics say it's risky to allow community hospitals to do angioplasties without backup open-heart surgery programs and could increase complication rates.
Dr. Dean Kereiakes, a cardiologist and proponent of specialty heart hospitals, said such centers offer superior heart care because they concentrate top talent and use the latest equipment and newest medications.
"If transfer times are the problem, then the intelligent thing is for ambulances to not stop [at community hospitals] in the first place," Kereiakes said.