A cardiac catheterization lab at Mercy Hospital Ada has opened to serve people in need of emergency heart care in southern Oklahoma.
A team of interventional cardiologists staff the unit around the clock and specialize in caring for patients experiencing chest pain and heart attacks, including STEMIs, the most serious type of heart attack that occurs when the coronary artery is completely blocked.
“When a patient is experiencing a heart attack, getting care as quickly as possible is important to saving lives and restoring a patient’s heart health,” said Dr. Mitchell Devlin, interventional cardiologist at Mercy Hospital Ada. “Your heart needs oxygen to survive. The quicker a patient can get to the cath lab to restore blood flow, the better chance they have at survival and recovery.”
In the cath lab at Mercy Hospital Ada, the team can perform cardiac interventions with balloon angioplasty, by placing a stent or via thrombectomy and atherectomy procedures.
“This is a service that has not been available in our community for many years, meaning patients had to travel an hour or more to get specialized care,” said Terence Farrell, president of Mercy Hospital Ada. “Mercy is committed to Ada and to providing services that are essential to the health and well-being of our neighbors. We are so proud to now be able to treat heart attacks in southern Oklahoma. There is no doubt lives will be saved and families changed forever because they have access to this care.”
Mercy EMS is an integral part of the care team. If an Ada resident calls 911 for chest pain, Mercy EMTs can take an image of the heart from the ambulance and send it electronically to the emergency department at Mercy Hospital Ada.
“We want people to know to call 911 for an ambulance as soon as they experience chest pain they think might be a heart attack,” said Dr. Payman Sattar, interventional cardiologist at Mercy Hospital Ada. “The paramedics can begin assessing a patient and call ahead to the hospital to let us know they’re on the way. When we get that call, we immediately activate the cath lab and have the team at the ready to begin treatment as soon as the patient gets to the ER. This saves precious minutes.”
The cath lab is a new addition to Mercy’s existing cardiology services in Ada. After discharging from the hospital, patients will be able to focus on their recovery at Mercy’s outpatient cardiopulmonary rehabilitation program and receive follow-up care with Mercy cardiologist Dr. Fionnuala Gurley.
“It’s so important to be able to treat the emergency illnesses here in Ada, but also to have ongoing care and wraparound services for patients to help restore and sustain their good health,” said Scott Tulane, vice president of operations at Mercy Hospital Ada.
