Paul arrived at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital Emergency Center shortly after leaving his home. Paramedics quickly shared the results of his EKG and updated the emergency center staff on Paul’s condition.

A well-orchestrated process
As the emergency center staff got to work, Paul observed a flurry of activity going on around him. “It’s a very well-orchestrated process,” says Michael Seim, MD, medical director at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital Emergency Center. “When people come to us with heart attack symptoms, our goal is to quickly perform and interpret the EKG to diagnose if the patient is having a heart attack. If the EKG identifies a heart attack, our job is to stabilize the patient, begin medical treatment of their heart attack and get the patient prepared for the cath lab – fast.”

The emergency center staff follows “best-care guidelines” when treating patients with heart attack symptoms. National cardiology associations, such as the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, prepared these guidelines so important steps would not get overlooked. The guidelines specify that patients with heart attack symptoms receive specific testing and treatment, including an EKG, chest X-ray and certain medicines.

Paul’s ER experience
When the emergency team performed an EKG on Paul, they were unable to confirm that he was having a heart attack. “They scratched their heads when they reviewed my EKG,” Paul recalls.

“Some people with chest pains have normal EKGs yet are still damaging their heart,” Dr. Seim explains. “When this happens, we treat patient’s symptoms with medicines and perform blood enzyme tests to look for markers that show damage to their heart muscle. In patients who have a concerning history, we admit them to the hospital and perform additional tests and continuous cardiac monitoring.”

Paul had two blood enzyme tests that morning. When the first test did not show signs of a heart attack, doctors waited 90 minutes then performed a second one. That one showed elevated enzyme levels – a sure sign of heart damage. “Things got a little more urgent after that,” Paul says.

He was immediately rushed to the cath lab for an angiogram – a diagnostic procedure that helps cardiologists see exactly which arteries are blocked.

To learn what happened during Paul’s angiogram, read “Getting an inside look at heart attacks.” To learn more about heart attacks’ symptoms, visit parknicollet.com/heart.