Chesapeake Regional Medical Center receives prestigious accreditation for its Chest Pain Center

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, and chest pain is one of the most common reasons people visit the Emergency Room.

In heart attacks, getting treatment fast can mean the difference between life and death.

That’s why Chesapeake Regional Medical Center established a chest pain center within its Emergency Department two years ago, to ensure that patients receive fast, accurate and state-of-the-art diagnosis and treatment as soon as they arrive at its doors.

Fully accredited - a first for south Hampton Roads

Now, after a rigorous evaluation, Chesapeake Regional Chest Pain Center has been awarded full accreditation with PCI from the Society of Chest Pain Centers. The center is the only one in south Hampton Roads with the prestigious designation and one of only four in the state.

To earn the designation, nationally recognized experts visited Chesapeake Regional in June to verify that heart attack patients are receiving the most advanced and best possible care. The society has strict criteria and only accredits those facilities that closely follow the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association's recommendations to improve and save lives.

As part of the Emergency Department’s protocol, patients with chest pain or other heart attack symptoms receive immediate medical evaluation by cardiologists and emergency physicians – sometimes even before they arrive at the ED doors. Through a new partnership with Chesapeake ambulance services, for instance, EMS teams are able to perform EKGs in the field and send the information within seconds to the emergency department. This allows the cardiac team to be in place as soon as the patient arrives at the ER.

Once there, a highly skilled team with advanced knowledge in managing heart attacks provides rapid therapy to decide whether immediate medical treatment is warranted, further tests are needed or observation is necessary.

Available to help physicians make their diagnosis is the most advanced generation of cardiac CT scan available. This high tech tool provides 64-slice scans within seconds, giving physicians the ability to quickly diagnose patients.

For those who need immediate intervention, Chesapeake Regional’s cardiovascular lab is equipped with two sophisticated digital X-ray systems that provide physicians with a distortion-free, high-resolution, 3-D image of the heat’s coronary arteries. This technology allows them to perform a range of minimally invasive procedures to unblock arteries and solve other problems.

With its protocol’s in place, Chesapeake Regional has registered scores well below the national average in “door-to-balloon” times for those patients facing heart conditions.

On August 19, staff members and volunteers gathered to form a heart to remind the community about the importance of heart disease awareness and celebrate the accreditation of the Chest Pain Center. Chesapeake Regional is a South Hampton Roads sponsor for Go Red for Women, a program of the American Heart Association.

Let us help you find a doctor.

Chesapeake Regional Medical Center
736 Battlefield Blvd. North
Chesapeake, VA 23320
757-312-8121