Community Health Network

Heart Attack (Acute Myocardial Infarction)

How do we compare?

At Community Health Network, we take pride in the care we provide to our patients. To monitor the quality of that care, we track specific quality measures and compare them to benchmark measures. We publish this information so that you can see how effective Community Health Network is regarding the treatment of heart attack patients.

What is a heart attack?

A heart attack, or myocardial infarction (MI), occurs when blood flow to the heart muscle is blocked and one or more regions of the heart are deprived of oxygen, causing heart cell damage in the affected areas.

The blockage is often a result of atherosclerosis - a buildup of plaque, known as cholesterol, and other fatty substances. Plaque inhibits and obstructs the flow of blood and oxygen to the heart, thus reducing the flow to the rest of the body. The cause of a heart attack is often a blood clot that forms within a plaque obstructed area.

If the blood and oxygen supply is cut off severely or for a long period of time, muscle cells of the heart suffer damage and die. The result is dysfunction of the muscle of the heart in the area affected by the lack of oxygen.

These quality measures show some of the standards of care provided, if appropriate, to someone who has had a heart attack.

Heart attack care quality indicators

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