New Cardiac Imaging Technique Produces Higher Quality Images in Less Time

Posted on by Kurt Jensen

CMR

An innovation in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging eliminates the need to correct images for respiratory motion, producing higher quality, more accurate images without waiting for patients to breathe.

Preliminary research presented at EuroCMR 2016 by Professor Juerg Schwitter, director of the Cardiac MR Centre at the University Hospital Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated how using a modified ventilator and small volumes of air, called "percussions," eliminated the need for patients to breathe during CMR.

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RMH Cardiac Team Works with Local EMS to Improve STEMI Calls

Posted on by Kurt Jensen

imageIn 2015, Sentara Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg, Virginia earned the American College of Cardiology's ACTION Registry®-GWTG™ Platinum Award for the second consecutive year for providing superior care to high-risk STEMI patients.

Sentara RMH was also recently awarded the American Heart Association Mission: Lifeline® Silver Award for STEMI.

An important quality consideration in the ACTION Registry, door-to-balloon time sets Sentara RMH and its cardiac team apart.

In a recent interview, cardiac operations manager Linwood Williams reported that Sentara RMH's average door-to-balloon time is 46 minutes compared to the national average of 59.2.

We reached out to Williams, an active Alliance of Cardiovascular Professionals member, to profile his excellent cardiac team and ask the question---how did they improve STEMI?

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Essential Characteristic #2 – What Flexibility can do for you

Posted on by Kurt Jensen

5charcrop2

Anne-Marie Slaughter, former Director of Policy Planning for the US Department of State, gave a TED talk in 2013 where she discussed work-life balance---how it helps employers and employees, and how it can facilitate gender equality in the work place.

Her talk offered an excellent perspective on an important societal issue, but it also outlined the beneficial effects of giving employees flexible schedules.

In cardiovascular care, flexible scheduling is not impossible or unreasonable. The importance of work-life balance and its effects on everything from quality of care to the bottom line make flexible staffing the second of our 5 essential characteristics of highly effective cardiovascular teams.

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