McDonough District Hospital and Prairie Heart Institute of Illinois Partner To Bring Chest Pain Network to Western Illinois

Macomb, IL --McDonough District Hospital (MDH) and the Prairie Heart Institute have a long history of working together to provide Prairie Heart care locally to hundreds of patients in the western Illinois area. The newest addition to that long history is the Prairie Heart Institute Chest Pain Network.

This network of community hospitals represents the region's most comprehensive and coordinated approach to diagnosing and treating chest pain in Illinois. It connects hospitals and local EMS agencies to ensure that when the patient arrives in the emergency room, a well-orchestrated series of events and protocols are started for the swift diagnosis and treatment of chest pain patients.

"Chest pain is one of the most common complaints of patients presenting to the emergency department, but only 10 – 15 percent of patients with chest pain are having a heart attack. One of the goals of a Chest Pain Network is to significantly reduce the time it takes to determine the exact cause of chest pain, which reduces the time to treatment during the critical early stages when treatments are most effective," according to Dr. Shailesh Nandish from Prairie Cardiovascular, who is the Medical Director of the program.

"By becoming part of the Prairie Heart Chest Pain Network, we can ensure that we are able to quickly and accurately diagnose the cause of chest pain and determine the next best step,” said MDH CEO/President Kenny Boyd.

"MDH's forward-thinking leadership and commitment to the residents of its community make it an ideal partner to bring new ways of treating heart disease to the Macomb area," said Jim Zito, CEO of Prairie Heart Institute of Illinois.

The Prairie Heart Institute of Illinois (PHII) is a community-based network of hospitals that offer cardiovascular programs staffed by the nationally recognized Prairie Cardiovascular Consultants, the largest group of cardiologists in the tri-state region. The network hospitals of PHII offer the highest level of cardiovascular care possible in their communities. When more specialized care is needed, it is available in Springfield, Belleville or Carbondale.