Heart

Spartanburg Regional Heart Center is the first in the state of South Carolina to receive national accreditation as an Accredited Chest Pain Center Primary PCI with Resuscitation. This means our Cath Lab can place a stent to keep an artery open and also utilizes an evidence-based hypothermia program for cardiac arrest patients.

If you have chest pain, it is crucial to seek immediate medical attention — doing so can save your heart muscle and your life. As soon as you call 9-1-1 because of chest pain, our emergency physicians, cardiologists, critical care nurses, and paramedics follow national guidelines to diagnose and treat you quickly.

Our Chest Pain Centers are located in a dedicated section of the Emergency Center at Spartanburg Medical Center and at Spartanburg Medical Center - Mary Black Campus.

What Is a Nationally Accredited Chest Pain Center?

Accreditation means that our physicians and staff follow national protocols to evaluate and treat patients more quickly and accurately during the early stages of a heart attack, a critical time when treatments are most effective.

Our Chest Pain Center has earned the most advanced accreditation level available from the American College of Cardiology’s Accreditation Services. This national accreditation demonstrates our commitment to always being ready to treat patients with heart attack.

It also shows that we have the advanced skills to provide effective care without emergency surgery (a procedure called percutaneous coronary intervention) for many of our heart attack patients.

For half the people having symptoms of a heart attack, early treatment can prevent permanent damage to the heart. That's why it's important to recognize early warning signs and act by calling 9-1-1 immediately. When EMS arrives treatment begins right away.

Early warning signs include:

• Chest discomfort, like pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain, in the center of the chest
• Chest discomfort that lasts more than a few minutes, or that goes away and comes back
• Cold sweat
• Lightheadedness
• Nausea
• Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, or the back, neck, jaw or stomach
• Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort

To help save you or a loved one's life:

1. Learn the early signs of a heart attack
2. Call 9-1-1 immediately if you or others experience these signs or symptoms
3. Learn hands-only CPR
4. Make lifestyle modifications to reduce your risk for heart disease

Emergency Services

If you a friend or a loved one is experiencing early heart attack symptoms, do not drive to the hospital. Call 9-1-1 immediately. Emergency responders can provide lifesaving treatment to restore blood flow to the heart. Additionally, the emergency medical services (EMS) team can run tests that help your doctor to reach a diagnosis quickly.

Spartanburg Regional EMS personnel work with our emergency department and cardiac care teams to share critical information with the hospital before your arrival. This allows the team to prepare for your arrival and speed up treatment once you are at the hospital - often bypassing the emergency room and going straight to the cardiac catheterization lab.