The heart is a hollow, muscular organ in vertebrates, responsible for pumping blood through the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions. The term cardiac, as in cardiology, means - related to the heart - and comes from the Greek word, kardia, for heart.

MUSC helps turn heart guidelines into lifelines

Heart :: MUSC helps turn heart guidelines into lifelines

The Medical University of South Carolina, (MUSC) was recognized for participating in an American Heart Association and American Stroke Association program called Get With the Guidelines.

The program helps ensure that the care hospitals provide for coronary artery diseases, stroke and heart failure is aligned with the latest scientific guidelines. The level of achievement shows MUSC's commitment to implement a higher standard of care for heart disease and stroke patients.

Get With the Guidelines helps ensure that patients treated and discharged receive quality care in accordance with guidelines that will reduce the risk of secondary events. It takes advantage of the "teachable moment," or the time soon after an acute event, when patients are most likely to listen to their healthcare professionals' treatment recommendations. Studies demonstrate that patients who are taught how to manage their risk factors while still in the hospital reduce their risk of a second heart attack or stroke.

Under the protocols, patients are started on aggressive risk reduction therapies such as cholesterol-lowering drugs, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors, aspirin, diuretics and anticoagulants in the hospital. In the case of stroke, they may receive tPA, antithrombotics and DVT prohphylaxis. If indicated, patients also receive alcohol/drug use and thyroid management counseling and referrals for cardiac rehabilitation before being discharged.

"The full implementation of acute and secondary prevention guidelines is a critical step in saving the lives of patients," said Gray Ellrodt, M.D., chairman of the GWTG Steering Committee. "The aim of the American Heart Association's Get With the Guidelines program is to help hospitals like MUSC implement appropriate evidence-based guidelines for care and protocols that will reduce the number of deaths in these patients and in their communities."

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