Cardiac Services

Emergency Services

The Chest Pain Unit

Our emergency physicians treat an average of 300 patients each day, 10 percent of whom are cardiac patients. Chest pain is a common complaint, and while it has many causes, it may reflect a potentially life threatening problem. More than 350 patients with acute heart attacks visit the Andrew F. Anderson Emergency Center each year, making Rhode Island Hospital one of the most experienced heart attack centers in the Northeast.

Because of the urgency of identifying and treating a heart attack, we have developed a multi-tiered approach to the assessment of chest pain. Every patient who reports chest pain undergoes a rapid evaluation by our emergency center staff. An in-house cardiologist participates in evaluation and treatment of all patients. If a heart attack diagnosis is made, patients are taken either to the cardiac catheterization suite to open a closed vessel or admitted to the coronary care unit for intensive medical therapy.

Patients for whom the cause of chest pain is not clear are often admitted to the new chest pain unit located in a separate area of the emergency center. This unit is the only of its kind in the state. Upon arrival, each patient undergoes a standardized protocol to assess the cause of symptoms. This involves specialized blood work, monitoring, and stress testing with either ultrasound or nuclear imaging. Depending on the results of testing, the patient is either discharged for outpatient follow up or admitted for further treatment. The emergency center attending team that staffs the unit is in regular consultation with cardiologists and physician assistants. These specialists are specifically trained to treat patients with cardiac illnesses.

By applying a rapid assessment and treatment protocol to all patients with chest pain, patients with life threatening conditions will be identified and treated earlier. Those who do not have acute cardiac problems can be diagnosed, treated and discharged more quickly.

Our other technologies, such as the 64-slice CT scanner, are also very effective at determining the cause of chest pain and aid our physicians as they determine the most effective treatment. We are the only hospital in the state to have this technology. We are also the first in the state to identify patients with heart attacks through wirelessly
transmitted electrocardiograms in coordination with the Cranston, Warwick and Providence fire departments and our emergency center.

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