South Whitehall Man Gives Thanks from the Heart

Man's blocked artery opened an hour sooner than the 90 minute gold standard; Lehigh Valley Hospital's expanded MI Alert for Heart Attack makes first responders key to speeding up life-saving care

Lehigh Valley, Pa. (Nov. 15, 2007) – Richard Silverman has a lot to be thankful for this holiday season: his wife, Janet, their children and grandchildren, a successful business and a comfortable home in South Whitehall Township.

And, of course, his health... but that wasn't a sure thing a month ago.

A little after noon on Oct. 18, the 62-year-old man started having chest discomfort while working at his office at Pro-Dent Studio, of which he's an owner.

Silverman thought it was acid reflux and took an antacid tablet. "I expected it to work right away," he recalls.

But, things got worse quickly. Soon he was in pain and drenched with sweat.

Despite Silverman's protests, his wife called 911.

Cetronia Ambulance rushed to Silverman's workplace, arriving within minutes. EMT Matt Keiper and paramedic Steph Burke placed 12 EKG leads to his chest, which showed quickly that he was having a heart attack and needed advanced medical care immediately.

On the way to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest (LVH) Burke called the ER, where Marna Greenberg, D.O., activated the hospital's MI Alert system for heart attack. ER and heart specialists quickly prepared for the Silverman's arrival.

This response is a significant extension of LVH's MI Alert system for Heart Attack, started in 2001, which gets heart attack patients to the cardiac catheterization laboratory for quick treatment, often saving their lives. Nearly 800 patients have been treated through the MI Alert process since its inception.

This new phase has hospital-trained emergency responders diagnosing heart attacks wherever they are caring for the patient in the field, saving precious minutes when the patient arrives in the ER. The program had gone "live" at LVH only the day before Silverman had his heart attack one month ago.

Richard Silverman is no stranger to heart problems. His father, cardiologist Morton Silverman, M.D., was instrumental in opening the first cardiac care unit in the Lehigh Valley at the former Allentown Hospital (now Lehigh Valley Hospital-17th and Chew). His mother suffered heart attacks, had two open heart surgeries and eventually died of heart failure.

Upon arrival at LVH, Dr. Greenberg confirmed the patient was indeed having a heart attack and helped facilitate treatment and transport to the cardiac catheterization laboratory, where Nainesh Patel, M.D., found that his heart's "widow maker" artery was completely blocked.

Patel opened the artery with a tiny balloon, inserting two metal stents in the vessel to hold the blockage against the walls so blood could flow to Silverman's heart muscle. This life-saving treatment took just 24 minutes from the time Silverman had been whisked in the door of the ER. The national "gold standard" for this life-saving procedure is 90 minutes. LVH exceeds the standard in 83 percent of cases compared to the national average of 55 percent and the statewide average of 49 percent (see Hospital Compare Web site: http://www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov).

Silverman is grateful to his wife for calling 911, the medical personnel at Cetronia Ambulance and LVH for their quick and competent treatment, which undoubtedly saved his life. "They were all wonderful and very professional," he says.

He wants people to know that the best thing they can do when having chest discomfort or chest pain is get to an ER. "Call 911," he says, "even if it's not the classic chest-crushing symptom. You're still better off getting it checked out."

Thanks to LVH's MI Alert process, he's alive and able to offer this advice.

A premier academic community hospital, Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network includes three hospital facilities – two in Allentown and one in Bethlehem, Pa. – Lehigh Valley Health Services, providing home health, hospice, pharmaceutical and health management services and the 370-member Lehigh Valley Physician Group. In 2007, US News & World Report named Lehigh Valley Hospital one of America's Best Hospitals for the twelfth straight year. LVHHN's advanced regional resources include a Level I Trauma Center with added pediatric qualifications, regional Burn Center as well as kidney and pancreas transplant, perinatal/neonatal, cardiac, cancer care, and neurology and complex neurosurgery capabilities. LVHHN hospitals are designated national Magnet hospitals for excellence in nursing. LVH is one of Pennsylvania's largest teaching hospitals and is a major teaching campus of Penn State's College of Medicine.

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