Percent of Heart Attack Patients Given a Beta Blocker at Discharge
Why Is This Important?
Beta blockers are a type of medicine that is used to lower blood pressure, treat chest pain (angina) and heart failure, and to help prevent a heart attack. Beta blockers relieve the stress on the heart by slowing the heart rate and reducing the force with which the heart muscles contract to pump blood. They also help keep blood vessels from constricting in the heart, brain and body.
About This Graph
Health care providers recognize that heart attack patients can benefit from beta blockers and should get a prescription for a beta blocker before leaving the hospital. The graph below indicates how often eligible heart attack patients are prescribed a beta blocker when being discharged from UMass Memorial Medical Center as compared with other Massachusetts and U.S. hospitals. Higher percentages indicate better care. (Graph data: Jan 2011 - Dec 2011.)
How Are We Doing?
While UMass Memorial Medical Center achieved 100 percent performance for this indicator in our most recent quarter, we continue to monitor our care to identify any incidences where we did not meet the standard. Results are updated quarterly in order to provide the most up-to-date information.