The Chester County Hospital received full accreditation with PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) from the Society of Chest Pain Centers (SCPC) on November 1, 2010.

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 people dying annually of heart disease. More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. SCPC's goal is to significantly reduce the mortality rate of these patients by teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a possible heart attack, reduce the time that it takes to receive treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.

The Accredited Chest Pain Center's protocol-driven and systematic approach to patient management enables physicians to reduce time to treatment during the critical early stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective, and to better monitor patients when it is not clear whether or not they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that patients are neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.

With the increase in chest pain centers came the need to establish standards to improve the consistency and quality of care provided to patients. SCPC's accreditation process ensures that centers meet or exceed quality-of-care measures in acute cardiac medicine.

"When experiencing chest pain, people tend to put off seeking help, and that's a mistake," says

Timothy Boyek, M.D., Medical Director of the Cardiac Diagnostic Interventional Catheterization Laboratories at The Chester County Hospital.

"Time is muscle and the sooner a heart attack is treated, the less damage to the heart and the better the outcome for the patient."

When you or anyone around you experiences chest pain, call 9-1-1 immediately. The faster you receive care, the better the chance of saving heart muscle and, ultimately, your life.