When patients with chest pain are first seen in an emergency room, it can be difficult to determine whether they're having a heart attack. The new chest pain center at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics aims to eliminate some of that confusion.
Sorting out patients with chest pain who can safely go home versus those who need to be hospitalized is a costly and risky dilemma. That's why University of Iowa Heart Care specialists created a new chest pain center.
In the past, patients who came to emergency departments with chest pain were either admitted to the hospital for several days, or sent home. But some patients who were sent home were at higher risk for complications. University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics chest pain center will more quickly and effectively evaluate patients who are unsure of what is causing their chest pain.
"It's important to point out that the chest pain center is designed to allow patients to come in when otherwise they may not come in because their symptoms may be rather vague, non-descript, or not very typical of a heart attack," says Neal Weintraub, M.D., director of UI cardiovascular diseases.
The chest pain center provides an observation period during which standard tests are run to rule out heart attack. Specialists also provide cardiac risk assessment and healthy heart education and counseling.
"The advantage is, not only do we give them a lot more information, but we're able to intervene and do the right thing a much more timely fashion," says Stephen Scheckel, M.D., UI emergency medicine physician.
UI Heart Care specialists hope the chest pain center increases awareness of heart disease and prompts more Iowans to seek medical attention when chest pain develops.
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