UnityPoint Health | Heart Attack

Heart Attack

UnityPoint Health has a very strong approach to heart health. We perform free heart screenings and encourage you to begin regular visits with a UnityPoint Clinic primary care doctor to help you to continue to live well with a healthy heart. If you don't have a primary care doctor, please use our helpful physician finder.

How is Heart Attack used to measure quality? 

The numbers in this section look at the care of patients who have had a heart attack and whether they leave the hospital with medications known to be helpful after a heart attack.

Many of the numbers around AMI measure the number of minutes it took healthcare providers to respond with scientifically proven treatments such as:

  •  Time to transfer a patient to specialized care
  • Time to get an electrocardiogram (ECG) to rule out or to confirm an AMI
  • Time to administer medications that break up blood clots

View UnityPoint Health Hospital Reports

What is a heart attack? 

Heart attack, also called an acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), is a life-threatening. It happens when there is not enough oxygen getting to the heart. When this happens, the heart cannot work right and part of the heart's muscle can slow down or stop. Like all living cells, if the cells of the heart do not get the oxygen and nutrients they need, they may die making it important to catch a heart attack early.

What happens if I am diagnosed with this? 

Treatment for a heart attack can take many forms is different for everyone. If you receive care for a heart attack at UnityPoint Health, you may be given medication or other treatments to reduce the damage to the heart as well as reducing the chance of death. These treatments may include oxygen therapy, nitroglycerin to decrease how hard your heart has to work and improve its blood flow, and treatment for chest pain.