Inova Heart and Vascular Institute at the Inova Fairfax Hospital Receives American College of Cardiology Performance Award

FALLS CHURCH, Va., Aug. 30, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Inova Heart and Vascular Institute (IHVI) has received the American College of Cardiology's NCDR ACTION Registry–GWTG Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2016. IHVI is one of only 223 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.

The award recognizes IHVI's commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that IHVI has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.

"We are very pleased to be recognized by the American College of Cardiology for meeting their top level quality of care standards," said Chris O'Connor, M.D, CEO, Inova Heart and Vascular Institute. "When a person is having a cardiac event, minutes count, and the result of following strict protocols and adhering to the ACTION Registry guidelines is that we're saving lives and improving outcomes."

To receive the ACTION Registry–GWTG Platinum Performance Achievement Award, IHVI consistently followed the treatment guidelines in the ACTION Registry–GWTG Premier for eight consecutive quarters and has performed at the top level of standards for specific performance measures. Full participation in the registry engages hospitals in a robust quality improvement process using data to drive improvements in adherence to guideline recommendations and overall quality of care provided to heart attack patients.

"As a Platinum Performance Award recipient, Inova Heart and Vascular Institute has shown it is a leader in implementing standards of care and protocols for its patients," said Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., M.P.H., FACC, FAHA, Chair, ACTION Registry-GWTG Chair; Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs, Brigham and Women's Hospital Heart and Vascular Center; and Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

The Center for Disease Control estimates that over 700,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. A heart attack occurs when a blood clot in a coronary artery partially or completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscle. Treatment guidelines include administering aspirin upon arrival and discharge, timely restoration of blood flow to the blocked artery, smoking cessation counseling and cardiac rehabilitation, among others.

ACTION Registry–GWTG is a partnership between the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association with partnering support from the American College of Emergency Physicians and the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care. ACTION Registry-GWTG empowers health care provider teams to consistently treat heart attack patients according to the most current, science-based guidelines and establishes a national standard for understanding and improving the quality, safety and outcomes of care provided for patients with coronary artery disease, specifically high-risk heart attack patients.

About Inova

Inova is a not-for-profit healthcare system based in Northern Virginia that serves more than 2 million people each year throughout the Washington, DC, metro area and beyond.  Inova is a comprehensive network of hospitals, outpatient services and facilities, primary and specialty care practices, and health and wellness initiatives.

Inova encompasses the full array of health services, including the area's only Level 1 Trauma Center and Level 4 neonatal intensive care unit. We are home to many nationally and internationally recognized programs, including Inova Heart and Vascular Institute (IHVI), Inova Translational Medicine Institute (ITMI), Inova Dwight and Martha Schar Cancer Institute (ISCI).  

Inova is a global leader in the science of genomics and the new era of personalized health, which uses a person's genetic make-up, family and medical history, and lifestyle to determine the best prevention and treatment.  We connect researchers, clinicians and empowered consumers to improve patient care, enhance prevention and encourage wellness. 

The American College of Cardiology is a 52,000-member medical society that is the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team. The mission of the College is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College operates national registries to measure and improve care, offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research and bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet stringent qualifications. For more, visit acc.org.

Kelly Schlageter 
[email protected]
571-472-0200

SOURCE Inova Health System