ARLINGTON, Texas — Eight Texas Health hospitals and joint ventures were recently recognized by the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for their advanced care of heart attack and stroke patients.

Seven of the facilities were recognized with Mission Lifeline® awards for heart attack treatment, and five received Get With the Guidelines® awards for stroke and/or heart failure care. Both sets of awards were for data submitted during 2019.

Cardiovascular diseases claim more lives each year than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined, according to the American Heart Association. Cardiovascular disease accounted for more than 17.5 million deaths in the U.S. during 2017. By 2030, that statistic is expected to increase to more than 22 million.

“With cardiovascular disease as the leading cause of death in North Texas, these prestigious recognitions highlighted by the American Heart Association emphasize Texas Health’s strong commitment to treating patients living with chronic diseases,” said Kirk King, Texas Health’s executive vice president and hospital channel chief operating officer. “Texas Health will continuously focus on providing North Texans with resources to treat, manage and even prevent cardiovascular disease’s negative impact on each consumer’s quality of life.”

The awards for heart attack care were based on participation and achievement in the Mission: Lifeline program (subcategorized by STEMI and NSTEMI). STEMI stands for ST elevation myocardial infarction, a lethal type of heart attack that involves full blockage of the coronary artery. NSTEMI is a non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction, which is normally less damaging to the heart and is a partial blockage of the coronary artery or blockage of a minor heart blood vessel. The AHA awards recognize the Texas Health facilities for their commitment to treatment guidelines and quality improvement for both.

This year’s recipients for the Mission: Lifeline (STEMI) award include:

• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Fort Worth – Silver Plus and Bronze Plus award levels
• Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Hurst-Euless-Bedford – Gold Plus award level
• Texas Health Heart & Vascular Hospital Arlington – Gold Plus award level
• Texas Health Huguley Hospital Fort Worth South – Gold award level
• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas – Silver Plus award level
• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Denton – Gold Plus award level
• Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano – Gold Plus award level

Texas Health HEB also achieved Gold level status for this year’s Mission: Lifeline (NSTEMI) award.

The Get With The Guidelines® awards recognize a hospital’s commitment to providing stroke and heart failure treatment according to nationally recognized, research-based guidelines. The goal is to expedite recovery and reduce hospital readmissions for stroke and heart failure patients. To highlight facilities offering advanced care for patients with heart failure and/or stroke and Type 2 diabetes, the AHA created the Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll last year. This recognition allows Get With The Guidelines award recipients to also be acknowledged for compliance measures tailored to patients with Type 2 diabetes.

The 2020 Get With The Guidelines Heart Failure award recipients included:

• Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital – Gold Plus and Target Heart Failure Honor Roll award levels
• Texas Health Heart & Vascular Hospital Arlington – Gold Plus and Target Heart Failure Honor Roll award levels

Receiving the Get With The Guidelines Stroke award for 2020 were:

• Texas Health Arlington Memorial – Gold Plus and Target Stroke Elite Honor Roll award levels
• Texas Health Fort Worth – Gold Plus and Target Stroke Elite Honor Roll award levels
• Texas Health Dallas – Gold Plus, Target Stroke Honor Roll and Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award levels
• Texas Health Denton – Gold Plus and Target Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award levels

To earn Get With The Guidelines® recognition, hospitals must meet specific quality achievement measures for the diagnosis and treatment of stroke and heart failure patients at a designated level for a set period (24 consecutive months for gold, 12 months for silver and three months for bronze). These measures include evaluation of the proper use of medications and other stroke treatments aligned with current, evidence-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing death and disability for stroke patients. Before leaving the hospital, patients should receive education on managing their health, schedule a follow-up visit, along with providing additional care-transition resources.