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Each year more than five million people go to emergency departments with complaints of chest pain. A quick and effective diagnosis is essential in order to determine if a patient has a minor ailment or a life-threatening condition. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has been designated as an Accredited Chest Pain Center by the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC), an international organization dedicated to significantly reducing heart-related deaths by improving the response time for diagnosis and treatment of chest pain. The designation, which is the first in the tri-state area and one of only 30 nationwide, is given to institutions that meet the highest standards of care for patients with acute coronary disease.

Dr. Herbert Pardes, President & CEO of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, said, We view this important designation as an opportunity for us to strengthen our commitment to maintaining the highest standards in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart disease.

When it comes to chest pain, our mission is to provide rapid assessment and treatment for victims of heart attack, and to appropriately identify patients at risk for future heart attacks before discharge from the hospital, said Dr. James Giglio, Director of Emergency Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia and Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons.

When a patient presents with symptoms that may be atypical or subtle, including signs of a heart attack, a cardiac catheterization can save their lives. said Dr. LeRoy Rabbani, Director of the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and the Chest Pain Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia and Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. For patients not experiencing a heart attack, we found that, prior to discharge, stress testing can identify whether they are at risk for future heart attacks.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital leads the nation in coordinating pre-hospital and emergency department care of patients with acute coronary disease. said Dr. Neal Flomenbaum, Chief of Emergency Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell, Medical Director of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Emergency Medical Services and Professor of Clinical Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College.

Dr. Robert Campagna, Director of the Acute Coronary Syndrome Program at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell and Associate Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College said, We have extraordinarily skilled and dedicated healthcare specialists working in the Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Medicine Department and Cardiology Department. By better coordinating the efforts of these three groups, we have taken a good system and made it great.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital treats more than 8,000 patients with chest pain every year. In 2002, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Chest Pain Center received an award for clinical excellence from the Voluntary Hospitals of America (VHA).

According to the Columbus, Ohio-based Society of Chest Pain Centers, the Chest Pain Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital has demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and completing on-site evaluations by a review team.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital demonstrated outstanding responses reflecting excellence in patient management and a commitment to maintain these high standards by their ongoing improvement processes, said Dr. Ezra A. Amsterdam, Director of the Coronary Care Unit, University of California, Davis Medical Center and Accreditation Review Team member of the Society.