Laredo Medical Center offers only Accredited Chest Pain Center to get you in the right hands at the right time

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The moment you feel chest pain, that could mean the sign of a heart attack, so knowing where to go can save your life. Laredo Medical Center (LMC) is the area’s first and only hospital to be accredited by the Society of Chest Pain Center, the national chest pain center accredited agency. That’s important because accredited chest pain centers have demonstrated expertise in the timely diagnoses and treatment of cardiac emergencies.

FULL CYCLE II CHEST PAIN CENTER ACCREDITATION

Laredo Medical Center has received full Cycle II Chest Pain Center Accreditation with PCI (Percutaneous Coronary Interventions) from the Society of Chest Pain Centers Accreditation Review Committee. The PCI accreditation certifies the amount of time elapsing between a patients’ arrival at the hospital with heart attack symptoms and the completion of treatment that opens the blocked artery and restores blood flow to the heart consistently beat the national average throughout 2009.

There are only 320 accredited chest pain centers nationally. LMC is the 45th healthcare facility in Texas to attain this accreditation, and the only hospital in the area awarded with the esteemed designation. This accreditation expires June 26, 2012.

PATIENT CARE

The process for patient treatment is simple. As soon as a patient experiences cardiac distress, he should enter LMC through the ER. The patient is then evaluated by the specially trained and accredited medical staff and connected to an EKG monitor for a timely evaluation of his or her condition. After an initial diagnosis is made, other hospital departments--including ER, catheterization lab, intensive care unit, recovery, and operating room--are engaged to complete the patient’s treatment plan. Low-risk patients are given the appropriate treatment options and subsequent care that is needed in the ER.

COMPREHENSIVE COMMITMENT TO HEART CARE

Laredo Medical Center makes a comprehensive commitment to heart care. The hospital has two 24-hour catheterization labs that each offer technological advances to provide enhanced services for patients. And with double the space available, no time is wasted with scheduled appointments or in emergency situations. The one-stop cardiac lab offers patient prepping, surgical, and recovery all in one location—eliminating the need to be moved from one place to another.

When it comes to matters of the heart, comfort and convenience are the first steps in recovery. And with the only open-heart surgical team in Laredo—including a team of dedicated and highly skilled healthcare professionals—LMC is devoted to caring for all your heart needs through services like cardiac catheterization, an open-heart program and outpatient cardiac rehabilitation.

WHEN TIME IS CRITICAL, HEAD FOR THE HEART

The instant you feel a flutter in your heart, or pain in your chest, there is no time to waste: Getting you to the right place in the right hands is critical. To help you, LMC has hung a huge, red heart above the entrance of LMC’s Emergency Room (ER). Come day or night, you’ll see the heart that will direct you to the right place.

For more information on heart care at Laredo Medical Center, call 796-3223.