Cardiac treatments extended to more patients in Lincoln
- Published
A new emergency treatment for heart attacks is being made available to more patients in Lincoln.
Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PPCI) has previously been offered to a limited number of patients in Lincolnshire.
But now the procedure is being deployed for emergency cardiac patients at Lincoln County Hospital.
It works by using a balloon to open up blocked arteries in patients suffering the most severe form of heart attack.
Expansion planned
From December, PPCI - also known as primary angioplasty - is being made available to all eligible patients from Lincoln who come in to the hospital as emergency cases during the day, on weekdays.
The programme is set to expand over the next year, with the ultimate aim of offering the treatment to all Lincolnshire patients on a 24-hour basis seven days a week.
Experts say PPCI is clinically more effective than giving clot-busting drugs to break up blood clots which could block arteries.
The vast majority of patients undergoing this procedure have arteries unblocked, compared with 60% who undergo the medication method.
Consultant interventional cardiologist Dr David O'Brien, said: "PPCI represents the best available treatment for patients presenting with a heart attack. It has been shown to save lives, and substantially reduce the risk of stroke associated with conventional 'clot-busting' treatment."