Heart Attack Clinical Data

What is the source for this data?

The clinical measures shown below have been identified by The Joint Commission as being important indicators of care quality.

The Joint Commission is the leading health care accrediting body in the United States. It evaluates how organizations comply with a broad range of standards, and it accredits nearly 16,000 health care organizations in the United States, including Fletcher Allen. Fletcher Allen is fully accredited by the Joint Commission.


Aspirin given at arrival

A high number is better.

What this means

This measures the percentage of heart attack patients who receive aspirin within 24 hours of arrival at the hospital.

Why it’s important

Aspirin is beneficial because it improves survival rates by reducing the tendency of blood to clot in heart vessels.

Aspirin prescribed at discharge

A high number is better.

What this means

This measures how often aspirin was prescribed to heart attack patients when they are leaving a hospital.

Why it’s important

Aspirin is beneficial because it improves survival rates by reducing the tendency of blood to clot in heart vessels.

ACE inhibitor, or ARB, prescribed for left ventricular systolic dysfunction

A high number is better.

What this means

This measures the number of heart attack patients who receive a prescription for a medicine called an ACE inhibitor when they are discharged from the hospital. Heart attack patients are prescribed this medicine to improve the heart’s ability to pump blood.

Why it’s important

Heart attack patients who receive this medicine generally have better outcomes.

Beta blocker prescribed at discharge

A high number is better.

What this means

This measures the percentage of heart attack patients who were given a medicine called a beta blocker when leaving the hospital.

Why it’s important

This treatment has been shown to reduce further heart damage in heart attack patients.

Adult smoking cessation advice & counseling provided

A high number is better.

What this means

This measures how well a hospital documents that it has given a hospitalized patient advice about stopping smoking.

Why it’s important

Smoking harms the heart, lungs, and blood vessels, and it makes existing heart disease worse.

Primary PCI received within 90 minutes of hospital arrival

A high number is better.

What this means

This measures how quickly heart attack patients had a clogged artery in the heart opened with a balloon therapy called PCI to increase blood to the heart and reduce heart damage.

Why it’s important

Timely use of a PCI procedure to reduce blockages improves heart attack outcomes.