New support for heart attack victims

 

The Powys Teaching Health Board has announced it has agreed with the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust that anyone suffering from a ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) are now taken directly to specilist centres instead of more local emergency casualty units, such as the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

 

“A heart attack is a serious medical emergency in which the supply of blood to the heart is suddenly blocked, usually by a blood clot. Lack of blood to the heart can seriously damage the heart muscle.  STEMI is a specific type of heart attack and not all heart attacks are STEMI,” said a Health Board spokesman.

 

“For patients suffering a STEMI it is important that they are taken to the nearest hospital that provides Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) to re-open coronary arteries. Not every hospital is able to provide this service, as to maintain any specialist service it is important that enough patients are treated to maintain the necessary skills in the specialist team that provides the service,” he added.

 

The Health Board said because of the rural nature of the area, the Wales Air Ambulance based at Welshpool would also be used for these type of heart attacks to ensure patients get emergency treatment.

 

The hospitals that provide this specialist service to Powys residents are: