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It’s called the Golden Hour, 60 precious minutes between a heart attack patient’s arrival at the hospital to the moment one or more clogged arteries are opened. An expert national cardiovascular task force recommends that heart attack patients receive angioplasty within 90 minutes, stating “the benefits of therapy diminish rapidly with delays in treatment.” Loyola University Hospital always aims for the Golden Hour.
In April 2009 Loyola became the first hospital in Illinois and one of the few nationwide to staff a Heart Attack Rapid Response Team (HARRT) at the hospital 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The HARRT program includes board-certified and highly experienced interventional cardiologists, nurses and technicians, all available for emergency angioplasties.
Arteries are opened during an angioplasty, when an interventional cardiologist inflates a balloon at the tip of a catheter inserted into an artery to clear the blockage. He often follows by implanting a stent (wire mesh tube) to keep the artery open. According to a review of 23 clinical studies, angioplasty is the most effective way to reopen an artery.
"The HARRT program will provide the next leap of care for patients," said Fred Leya, MD, professor, cardiology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine (LUC SSOM), and medical director, Loyola Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories. Dr. Leya is among a team of interventional cardiologists who will rotate night and weekend shifts at the hospital.
Readily available experts and the leading-edge “hybrid” design of Loyola’s new catheterization labs allow for an immediate response to serious complications from a heart attack. Each catheterization lab may quickly be turned into an operating suite to accommodate heart bypass or even heart transplant surgeries.
"We have seen just about every type of case imaginable," said Bruce Lewis, MD, professor, cardiology, LUC SSOM. The HARRT team’s interventional cardiologists each perform 300 angioplasties per year and published clinical research demonstrates that experience leads to better outcomes.
Loyola is a 2008 Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals®: Cardiovascular Benchmark Award winner and the only Illinois hospital on the Thomson Reuters 2008 list of the nation's top 30 teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residency programs. U.S. News and World Report® for six years has ranked Loyola's heart program as one of the best in the country.
For more information about Loyola’s expertise in Heart & Vascular care or to make an appointment, please call (888) LUHS-888.
Organ Transplants
In January Howard Sankary, MD, joined Loyola as director of the Intra-Abdominal Organ Transplant Division, which treats diseases of the liver, kidneys and pancreas. Loyola Living spoke with Dr. Sankary, one of Chicago’s top transplant surgeons, about his move to Loyola and his vision for the future.
Q. Dr. Sankary, what prompted you to come to Loyola?
A. I wanted to become a part of the area’s leading transplant program and work with Drs. John Brems, David Holt, John Milner, Robert Flanigan, Richard Gamelli, and the entire Loyola team. I recognized that Loyola’s network of primary care offices makes follow-up visits more convenient for patients, and the new hospital wing leads to a better transplant experience. I am committed to providing the best possible care to patients; Loyola gives me that opportunity since it is positioned to become a premier transplant center throughout the Midwest.
Q. What is the current perception of Loyola’s transplant program?
A. Experts know we have a top heart and lung program, yet fewer people know we have Chicago’s best survival statistics for liver transplants, and we’re near the top for kidney transplants.
Q. You’ve performed more than 800 liver transplants over the past 20 years. What’s new and exciting in transplant medicine?
A. Today’s biggest challenge is the scarcity of organs, which we’re combating with new medical procedures, such as partial liver transplants from living donors. We’re exploring a new approach to filtering patients’ blood in a way that creates more opportunities to match them with donated organs. Our vision is to continue to be pioneers in transplant medicine, helping patients lead full and complete lives.
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SYSTEM
