The American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and other key partners have launched a new, national quality initiative aimed at providing more timely care for patients with heart attacks. Called “Door to Balloon (D2B): An Alliance for Quality,” the program is designed to help hospitals adhere to guidelines that recommend opening patients’ blocked arteries with balloon angioplasty within 90 minutes after they arrive in the emergency department.
Some strategies that can reduce door-to-balloon times include having an emergency physician activate the catheterization laboratory, having a cath lab team ready within 20 to 30 minutes, and using a team approach in treatment. These strategies are based on a study of 365 hospitals to identify processes that decrease door-to-balloon time. The program launch and study findings were announced simultaneously at an AHA meeting in Chicago and in The New England Journal of Medicine. The Associated Press reported that 1,250 of the 5,000 U.S. hospitals that perform emergency angioplasty are being invited to join the initiative.
