Providence Portland Achieves Prestigious Honors From the American Heart Association

Portland, Ore. — Providence has again won national accolades, this time from the American Heart Association (AHA), for its commitment to implementing a higher standard of cardiovascular care—with such honors being touted in the July 17 issue of U.S. News & World Report, in its annual “Top Hospitals” edition.

Providence Portland Medical Center has been awarded with the AHA's “Get With The Guidelines” (GWTG) honor, the prestigious “Sustained Performance Achievement Award” in the category of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD), for 2005. The award—given to a mere eight hospitals in the country, in this category—recognizes Providence Portland's commitment and success for 24 consecutive months in implementing a level of care that effectively improves treatment of patients hospitalized with CAD.

Both Providence Portland and Providence St. Vincent Medical Centers have participated with GWTG/CAD since 2003, and both facilities won the “Annual Achievement Award” in 2004.

“We are dedicated to making our cardiac unit among the best in the country,” said Steven Reinhart, M.D., medical director of quality and data services for the Providence Heart and Vascular Institute and a cardiologist in private practice with The Oregon Clinic, who leads the GWTG/CAD efforts at Providence Portland.

“The GWTG program is helping us accomplish that by making it easier for our medical staff to improve the long-term outcomes of our cardiac patients. We are delighted to be recognized for our dedication and achievements in cardiac care,” he said.

To receive the award, Providence Portland consistently adhered to performance criteria in five categories with at least 85 percent of all eligible patients over a period of at least 24 consecutive months. 

The five key categories of the GWTG/CAD program include:

• Smoking cessation counseling for current smokers (or persons who have smoked within the last 12 months)
• Aspirin on discharge
• Beta-blocker on discharge
• ACE-I and/or ARB on discharge
• Lipid lowering therapy on discharge

“The AHA applauds Providence Portland for its success in implementing the appropriate standards of care and protocols to reduce the number of recurrent events in coronary patients,” said Gray Ellrodt, M.D., the AHA volunteer chairman for the national GWTG program. “Providence Portland is well above the national average in terms of implementing these life-saving treatments.”

Heart disease is the number one killer of men and women in America. People who survive a heart attack have a substantial risk of another heart attack, sudden death, angina pectoris, heart failure and stroke.

According to AHA statistics, more than 450,000 people suffer recurrent heart attacks each year. Within one year of a heart attack, 25 percent of men and 38 percent of women will die. Within six years after an attack, approximately 22 percent of men and 46 percent of women will be disabled with heart failure. Yet projections have shown that implementation of cardiovascular disease secondary prevention guidelines nationwide could result in saving more than 80,000 lives each year.

“The GWTG/CAD program encourages continuous quality improvement of heart attack treatment and prevention by focusing on care team protocols to ensure that patients are treated and discharged appropriately,” said Dr. Reinhart. “It also strives to engage patients so that they play an active role in their recovery to help prevent future cardiac events.

“Research demonstrates that when patients are discharged from the hospital on appropriate medications such as aspirin, beta-blockers, ACE inhibitors and lipid-lowering medicines, their risk of second cardiac events is reduced and lives are saved,” he continued.

“If by implementing this program we can reduce the number of deaths from secondary heart attacks, we will have made an incredible impact in cardiovascular care. These are the results we're after. We're in the business of healing people, trying to save lives. It’s what makes it all worthwhile.”

Providence Heart and Vascular Institute is an internationally renowned leader in cardiac and vascular care, research and education, whose physicians lead groundbreaking clinical trials and have trained specialists from around the world. Among its many specialized services are the heart failure/heart transplant program; robotic-assisted cardiac surgery; research and ongoing clinical trials with drug-eluting stents to open coronary arteries and restore blood flow; and advanced endovascular surgery, including the treatment of aneurysms. For more information, visit www.providence.org/heart.