New model of chest pain treatment coming to Wuxi

The project of constructing a new treatment model at the national Chest Pain Center in Wuxi was signed in Wuxi new district on Dec 13. [Photo provided to chinadaily]

A project of constructing a new chest pain treatment model at the national Chest Pain Center in Wuxi was signed in Wuxi new district on Dec 13.

Sponsored by the Wuxi Municipal Health and Family Planning Commission, the China Cardiovascular Association and AstraZeneca Company, the project aims to improve the survival rate for chest pain patients, in particular those with acute cardiovascular disease.

Chest pain, which has become a common problem, may be a symptom of a number of serious disorders and is, in general, considered a medical emergency.

In the US, an estimated five million people per year present to the emergency department with chest pain. More than 50 percent of people presenting to emergency facilities with unexplained chest pain will have coronary disease ruled out.

According to the National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, a total of 2.5 million people are admitted annually for treatment of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in China.

Once the ACS patients experience chest pain, delays in consulting, transferring and treating will increase the likelihood and amount of cardiac muscle damage and even death. Door-to-balloon, a time measurement in emergency cardiac care (ECC), should be no more than 90 minutes from the patient's arrival in the emergency department to treatment.

In Chinese hospitals, the average door-to-balloon interval is 112 minutes – far from the international standard.

The new treatment model in Wuxi is designed to build a citywide real-time interaction system based on IoT technology, following evidence-based protocols that allow for more rapid assessment and treatment of patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain.