Chest Pain & Heart Attack Care
The First Accredited Chest Pain Center in Oregon
What is a Chest Pain Center?
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, and chest pain is one of the most common reasons people visit the Emergency Department. This is why OHSU created a Chest Pain Center within our Emergency Room.
Patients with chest pain or other heart attack symptoms receive immediate medical evaluation by cardiologists and emergency physicians. Our doctors can monitor you for up to 48 hours in our observation unit without admitting you to the hospital. The Chest Pain Center gives patients a fast, accurate diagnosis, so they go home reassured they did not have a heart attack, or they are admitted for care if necessary.
The OHSU Chest Pain Center offers a revolutionary new diagnostic test called a myocardial contrast echo. It accurately shows whether any parts of the heart are not receiving enough blood and allows doctors to rapidly identify patients with serious cardiac problems. But the test also helps doctors quickly rule out patients who are not having heart problems.
Why choose the Chest Pain Center?
When it comes to heart attacks, you need to get the right treatment fast. Not every emergency department can offer you the same state-of-the-art diagnostic testing and on-site surgical options that are available at the OHSU Chest Pain Center.
The Society of Chest Pain Centers designated OHSU the first hospital in Oregon to become accredited for its chest pain center. Nationally-recognized experts verified that heart attack patients receive the best possible care while at OHSU. The Society has very strict criteria and only accredits those facilities that closely follow the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association’s recommendations to improve and save lives. OHSU is one of only two hospitals in Oregon with this designation.
With faster diagnoses and rapid cardiac intervention, the OHSU Chest Pain Center can help prevent or even reverse muscle damage to your heart. We offer:
- 24 hour on-site angioplasty/ coronary intervention
- 24 hour cath lab
- The first 256-slice CT in Oregon - which can detect the earliest signs of heart disease
The accreditation of the OHSU Chest Pain Center means you can be confident that we have the right team and equipment available day and night to stop a heart attack in its tracks. Our experts can quickly identify patients who need cardiac intervention, thus preventing further muscle damage to the heart.
Recognizing a heart attack
Many people believe that heart attacks are sudden and powerful, like those you see on TV. The truth is that recognizing a heart attack isn’t that easy. Most heart attacks start slowly with mild pain or discomfort. Symptoms might come and go or vary in intensity. You may even feel like you are coming down with the flu, have indigestion or a pulled muscle. Even if you have already had a heart attack, the symptoms can be different each time.
Recognizing the symptoms of a heart attack and reacting quickly is crucial to save your life or that of a loved one. Being aware of all the possible symptoms of a heart attack will ensure you or your loved one receive the right treatment quickly. This is especially important for women, who tend to have symptoms other than chest pain, such as nausea, vomiting, back or jaw pain.
Heart attack symptoms can be broken down into four categories. If you are experiencing one or more of the symptoms listed below, don’t wait. Seek treatment right away, even if you don’t think it’s a heart attack. Reacting quickly can make a difference not only in chances of your survival but in how you live your life after the heart attack.
- Chest discomfort. Most heart attacks involve discomfort in the center of the chest that lasts for more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back. The discomfort can feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain.
- Discomfort in other areas of the upper body. This can include pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
- Shortness of breath. Often comes along with chest discomfort. But it can also occur before you experience chest discomfort.
- Other symptoms. Some people might break out in a cold sweat or experience nausea or light-headedness.
React in Time
If you have any heart attack symptoms, seek emergency help within 5 minutes. Call 911 for an ambulance or have someone drive you to the nearest chest pain center or ER.
