It was real life—his life….and on September 23, 2007 it was slipping away. “ I thought that I was dying-the pain was excruciating,” said Steve.
Kline’s wife rushed him to Alegent Health Midlands Hospital…because it was the closest one to their home….little did he know at the time…she couldn’t have picked a better place.
“My heart stopped twice in the ER they went to work on me right away,” Steve explained.
Midlands Hospital…and all five metro Alegent Health hospitals are certified chest pain centers. They’ve received national accreditation twice….so what does that mean for you…well it’s not just another stamp of approval…it’s assurance.
“We have a mantra time is muscle,” said Randall Pritza, M.D., Alegent Health Clinic cardiologist. “So getting to a facility that has certified chest pain center you have a much better opportunity of getting out of the hospital and being able to live a normal life.”
Certified chest pain centers like the ones at Alegent Health have a plan in place to avoid delays in care. Nationally the goal is 90 minutes…from the time you hit the ER door until the artery is open. Alegent comes in under the clock…
“Certified chest pain center differs from standard e-r response time for acute heart attack within 30 minutes goal is to get to cath lab and have artery open within 60 to 90 minutes,” explained Dr. Pritza.
And for those who may be on the verge of having a heart attack—the care doesn’t end when the pain does.
“What chest pain centers affords us is capturing people who have chest pain but don’t know what it is. By observing for 5 to 9 hours and doing stress testing after, it allows us to catch people who most normally would have gone home and at times have a heart attack,” Dr. Pritza said.
That’s exactly what happens to about four percent of the people nationwide.
“I consider myself one of the luckiest men on the planet,” Steve said.
You don’t have to sell Steve Kline on the chest pain center…he suffered his heart attack around lunch time….that night he was watching his favorite football team…and did I mention running a 5k nine months later? Kline credits Alegent Health for every step.
“I’m grateful to Alegent Health and Midlands,” said Steve. “I’m here because they were there.”
For more information on Alegent Health’s chest pain centers call 1-800-alegent or visit www.alegent.com/chestpain.
