Oct. 4, 2005

Fairview Southdale Hospital and Edina paramedics have come together to be the first in the Twin Cities to pioneer time-saving digital heart rhythm transmission for emergency care.  Beginning in October, Edina paramedics will have the capability to send a real-time digital picture of a patient’s heart (a 12 lead electrocardiogram) by cell phone to Fairview Southdale Hospital’s new Medtronic LIFENET®RS receiving station. 

With this technology, emergency room physicians and cardiologists will instantly be able to look at the information as if they were with the patient.  This allows caregivers to make decisions about the best treatment and be ready to provide care immediately upon the patient’s arrival at the hospital. 

Previously, paramedics transmitted similar information by fax, which could take as long as five minutes.  Now, with digital technology, the entire process takes 30 seconds to a minute and the clarity of the data is greatly improved. When a person suffers a heart attack, every moment counts.  Quickly restoring blood flow to the heart is crucial in emergency situations. 

“This is state-of-the-art technology and it will help us save lives,” said Stephen Battista, M.D., cardiologist with the Minnesota Heart Clinic, a part of Fairview Southdale Heart and Vascular Center.  The heart is a muscle and according to Battista, “when you have a heart attack, time is muscle.  The faster we can assess the patient and get the patient into our catheterization lab to open the artery, the more heart muscle we can save.”

Currently, Fairview Southdale Hospital ranks among the top hospitals in the country in our speed to treat patients having heart attacks.  “We open blocked arteries in approximately 70 minutes from the time a patient enters the emergency room. This is about one half hour faster than the national average,” said Battista.  Implementing this new Medtronic technology could save up to another 20 to 30 minutes, he estimates.

Fairview Southdale Hospital is proud to be an innovative leader in heart, stroke and vascular care.  “We are striving to bring the latest technology and innovations to our patients in our goal to be the leading heart and vascular hospital in the state,” said Brad Beard, Fairview Southdale Hospital president.

Back to news and events

Back to Emergency Services