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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal government agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid. CMS works with hospitals to report on measures about the care they give. CMS uses medical information from patient records. For more information, visit the CMS Web site.

Listed below are the CMS performance measures we use and why they’re important:

Heart Attack

Patients Given ACE Inhibitor or ARB for Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction (LVSD)

  • Drugs called ACE Inhibitors and ARB’s may reduce future heart attacks and heart failure.

Patients Given Aspirin at Arrival

  • Sometimes blood clots block the blood vessels of the heart, causing a heart attack.
  • Chewing an aspirin as soon as a heart attack begins may reduce the severity of the attack.

Patients Given Aspirin at Discharge

  • Aspirin can help prevent blood clots from forming or help dissolve blood clots that have formed.
  • Taking aspirin may help prevent further heart attacks.

Patients Given Beta Blocker at Discharge

  • Drugs called "Beta blockers" may reduce future heart attacks.

Patients Given Smoking Cessation Advice/Counseling

  • Smoking is linked to heart attacks.
  • Quitting smoking may help prevent another heart attack.

Patients Given Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) within 90 Minutes of Arrival

  • Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) are procedures that open blocked blood vessels and help prevent further heart muscle damage.
  • Improving blood flow to your heart as quickly as possible lessens the damage to your heart muscle. It also can increase your chances of surviving a heart attack.
  • There are three procedures commonly described by the term PCI.
    • Angioplasty - a balloon is blown up to open a blood vessel.
    • Stenting - a small wire tube called a stent is placed in the blood vessel to hold it open.
    • Atherectomy - a blade or laser cuts through and removes a fatty blockage in an artery.

For more information on Heart Attack, visit the Web site:
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/HeartAttack/HeartAttack_WhatIs.html