Friends of Heart helps put new technology in Gibson Co. ambulances

GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. — A local nonprofit makes a life-saving and heart-healthy donation.

Friends of Heart, a nonprofit started by West Tennessee Healthcare, aims to help heart patients all over the region with new technology.

“Over the last several years, they’ve donated several AEDs to law enforcement, schools, things like that, and been able to provide those services that weren’t normally available,” said Dr. Michael Revelle, medical director of the emergency room at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital.

“They were able to give Gibson County a grant to provide each ambulance in Gibson County with a way to transmit EKGs to us here in the emergency department,” Revelle said.

Gibson County has hospitals and emergency rooms, but nowhere for heart care.

When time can be the difference between life or death, Revelle says studies prove that the new technology works.

“We looked at some data, and we were able to shave off about 10 minutes from the time that a patient was able to get into the cath lab after donating these services to Gibson County, and allowing them to transmit their EKGs to us,” he said.

This technology allows physicians to diagnose and determine heart care for a patient in the ambulance, before ever arriving at an emergency room.

“They notify us that they’ve sent us an EKG and it links to a cellular signal, and it appears to us here in the ER. They show it to a physician who activates the cath lab, consults the cardiologist, and gets everyone on board here,” Dr. Revelle said.

An EKG, or electrocardiogram, is a record of heart activity.

Revelle says getting the EKGs early leads to faster preparation for treating an incoming patient.

The cath lab is where a patient goes for treatment during a heart attack.