STEMI Designation

When a heart attack happens, seconds matter. French Hospital Medical Center has been designated as a STEMI Receiving Center by the San Luis Obispo County Emergency Medical Services Agency.  This certifies that our cardiac team is ready around the clock to diagnose and treat ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) heart attacks, the most serious kind of heart attack. A STEMI heart attack is caused by sudden, total blockage of a coronary artery and it can be deadly. The chance for damage to the heart muscle increases with every minute treatment is delayed. 

 

Acute Heart Attack And Immediate Care 

A STEMI heart attack is caused by sudden, total blockage of a coronary artery. It can be deadly. It’s why seconds matter in getting you or a loved one to a hospital that is STEMI designated. A hospital like French. 

STEMI designation means French Hospital Medical Center:

  • Consistently meets or exceeds the standard for door-to-balloon treatment time established by the American College of Cardiology for optimal outcomes
  • Maintains an advanced communication system to notify needed personnel while a patient is in transport to the hospital so there is no delay in life-saving treatment

Through French Hospital’s Emergency Department and our Chest Pain Center, we can treat and then transport patients to our cardiac catheterization laboratory for potentially life-saving, artery opening procedures.