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UAMS, CAVHS Unveil Quicker Route to Treat Heart Attacks A new system to wirelessly transmit heart monitor data from the ambulance to a cardiologist is now available at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and the Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS), the first hospitals in Arkansas to use the technology. The new system – dubbed “CALL” or Cardiac Action Life Link – could significantly reduce the time to treatment for a patient experiencing a heart attack by getting the data more quickly into the hands of the doctor who can decide the best treatment. Ibrahim Fahdi, M.D., a cardiologist and an assistant professor of internal medicine in the UAMS College of Medicine and a staff physician with CAVHS, worked with wireless provider Verizon Wireless and Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services (MEMS) to get the technology in place. “Since irreversible or potentially fatal damage to the heart can occur quickly, the faster we receive the ECG information, the quicker we can mobilize personnel and equipment to start treatment,” said Fahdi. “With its capability of transmitting the electrocardiogram (ECG) directly to a cardiologist, this wireless system has the potential to greatly reduce the time to treatment and save lives.” MEMS ambulances in the Little Rock metropolitan area will be able to transmit ECG recordings to the cardiologist on call and to the emergency department at either UAMS Medical Center or the John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans Hospital. An ECG records the electric activity of the heart and can be used to identify the signs of a heart attack taking place. The cardiologist receives the ECG information via a handheld wireless device donated by Verizon Wireless. Verizon Wireless also provided transmission equipment and wireless phones for the ambulances. The physician can mobilize personnel and equipment before the patient arrives – even allowing the patient to bypass the emergency department and go directly to a catheterization laboratory for treatment of blockages to restore the blood flow to the heart. “Wireless technology can truly help save lives. Verizon Wireless is proud to partner with UAMS and MEMS to provide this wireless system in central Arkansas that could make a lifesaving difference for someone suffering a heart attack,” said Luis M Cruz, region president for Verizon Wireless. |
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Wilson's 20 Years at UAMS Celebrated with Song, Humor Just beginning his annual State of the Campus Address, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Chancellor I. Dodd Wilson, M.D., was a little surprised when College of Medicine Executive Associate Dean Richard Wheeler, M.D., sauntered up beside him onstage. Click here for the video “I’ve been coming to these for years,” Wheeler said. “I’ve heard the talk.” The surprises didn’t stop as family, friends and colleagues marked Wilson’s 20 years at UAMS with humor, praise and song. Before a large crowd in the Fred W. Smith Auditorium at the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, Wheeler and others poked fun at some Wilson personality traits but congratulated him on his tenure at UAMS. Wilson arrived at UAMS in 1986 to be the dean of the College of Medicine. He was named chancellor in 2000. “You’ve meant a great deal to us in the College of Medicine when you were dean,” Wheeler said. “And you’ve meant a lot to so many more as chancellor, and this celebration is to thank you for that.” Among the surprises was a musical performance by Wilson’s three children, Matt, Kit and Dan Wilson, who secretly flew in for the event. The trio, including singer/songwriter Dan, former lead singer of the band Semisonic, performed “Shaboom Shaboom,” which Wheeler noted was a favorite when the chancellor performed as part of a singing group. |
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