Cardiovascular Services Awarded Gold Performance
for Implementing Get With The Guidelines^SM for Heart Failure

Contact: Robby Channell, 601-968-5135 rchannell@mbhs.org

Jackson, Miss. – April 29, 2008 – The American Heart Association, along with the American Stroke Association, recognized Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, Miss. with a Gold Performance Achievement Award for its Get With The Guidelines^SM heart failure program.

“The award from the American Heart Association ensures that patients admitted to Baptist with this condition are offered the very best of treatment,” added Cardiologist James L. Warnock, Jr., MD. “All the staff involved in heart failure care through Baptist Cardiovascular Services should be commended for the hard work they have done over the last several years as we have all been striving to improve our process of care for these patients entrusted to our care.”

Get With The Guidelines is the premier hospital-based quality improvement program empowering healthcare provider teams to consistently treat heart and stroke patients according to the most up-to-date guidelines. The program emphasizes protocols created to ensure cardiovascular patients are cared for according to nationally accepted standards and the latest evidence-based guidelines and recommendations.

Heart failure is a progressive condition in which the heart muscle becomes weakened, for example from high blood pressure or a heart attack. It gradually loses its ability to pump enough blood to supply the body sufficiently. It is common but under-recognized and often misdiagnosed.

Heart failure is the most common cause for admission to the hospital for older Americans. It affects over 5 million patients in this country. Of that number, over 50,000 die each year. “Despite that, new treatments have greatly improved the outlook for these patients. Guideline-based treatments have been shown to increase both their quality and quantity of life,” Dr. Warnock concluded.

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