How technology is saving the lives of acute myocardial infarction patients

High-tech medical care for cardiological emergencies became even more accessible in Moscow. A record number of patients with acute myocardial infarction had their coronary stenting performed in the city hospitals in 2021. It was announced by Anastasia Rakova, Deputy Moscow Mayor for Social Development.

“Over the past eight years, we have made a tremendous improvement in emergency care for patients with strokes and heart attacks. This resulted in primary angioplasty and stenting for the absolute majority of patients with myocardial infarction today. Since the infarction network was created in Moscow, the percentage of patients with acute myocardial infarction who had high-tech coronary stenting has increased to a record 85 percent. This has saved thousands of lives. Moreover, timely stenting in acute myocardial infarction reduces the risk of a future heart failure. The rate of coronary stenting for macrofocal acute myocardial infarction – one of the most serious types of heart attack with the highest mortality rate – is even higher in Moscow, reaching 94 percent. We managed to increase the availability of this type of surgery even during the pandemic,” said the Vice Mayor.

The level of elective and emergency cardiac care in Moscow complies with the best international standards both in terms of accessibility and in terms of cutting-edge approaches to diagnosing and treating all cardiovascular diseases. The experience of Moscow in this area is highly valued internationally, too.

In 2013, an infarction network of 20 city hospitals was created in Moscow. They provide high-tech emergency care to patients with any cardiovascular disease. The infarction network was used as a foundation for a stroke network in Moscow created in 2017. Currently it consists of 12 hospitals.

All the hospitals of the infarction and stroke network use modern high-tech equipment and are staffed 24/7 by qualified medical professionals, including endovascular surgeons. Such hospitals are evenly distributed throughout Moscow, so that the ambulance can deliver patients as quickly as possible. These days, the vast majority of heart attack and stroke cases involve an emergency surgery as early as 40 minutes after the arrival of the ambulance team.

A record number of high-tech surgeries – over 171,000 – were performed in 2021 on patients in Moscow city hospitals and on Muscovites in federal and private centers,  most of them being cardiovascular surgeries.

The progress in the development of emergency cardiac care in the city was noted at the international III Moscow Cardiology Congress held in November. The event was attended by more than three thousand experts in clinical and fundamental cardiology and related disciplines from Russia, European countries and the United States. Foreign specialists paid special attention to the effective arrangement of cardiac care during the COVID-19 pandemic.