Among the Nation’s Best for Clinical Outcomes

Mercy Heart Center is ranked number one in Iowa for clinical excellence in cardiac interventional procedures including angioplasties and stent placement, according to a comprehensive study released by HealthGrades, the nation’s leading independent healthcare ratings company.

Mercy also is a recipient of HealthGrades 2007 Specialty Excellence Award™ for cardiac care. The hospital ranks among the top 10% of the nation’s 5,000 hospitals for overall cardiac services. According to the latest HealthGrades study, Mercy Heart Center received five-star ratings for coronary bypass surgery and coronary interventional procedures.

As part of its ninth annual Hospital Quality in America Study, HealthGrades independently analyzed more than 5,000 hospitals in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for its 2007 ratings, objectively assessing their clinical outcomes and quality.

Excellent Heart Attack Response Times

Cardiologists, emergency physicians and other healthcare professionals at Mercy Medical Center also continue to achieve some the best statistical outcomes in the nation for early heart attack care.

Eighty-five percent of Mercy’s heart attack patients benefit from percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) within 90 minutes of arrival at the hospital. In fact, the average door-to-dilation time at Mercy Heart Center is just 65 minutes.

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine reports that only about one-third of the nation’s hospitals provide emergency care to heart attack patients within the 90-minute recommended window for saving lives. The study, sponsored by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, states that nearly half of the hospitals report average door-to-dilation times of 91 to 120 minutes.

So, at a time when a majority of the nation’s hospitals are not making the grade, Mercy Heart Center continues to rank among the nation’s best providers for quick, expert heart attack intervention.