Emergency Cardiac Care

Heart Care You Can Count On, When Every Second Counts

UMass Memorial Health offers expert emergency care at multiple locations in Central Massachusetts and beyond: UMass Memorial Medical Center, HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital, and Harrington Hospital. Our dedicated team enables seamless transfers from our community hospitals to the Medical Center in the event of a heart attack or other cardiovascular emergency. 

A skilled team of cardiac nurses, interventional cardiologists, heart surgeons and cardiac intensivists are on call 24/7. Our cardiac ICU is equipped with the latest monitoring technology and lifesaving equipment for critically ill patients.

Urgent Heart Conditions We Treat

Our skilled teams are ready to rapidly assess, triage and treat a range of cardiac emergencies.

• Angina (chest pain)
• Aortic dissection
• Cardiac arrest
• Cardiogenic shock (heart suddenly doesn’t pump enough blood)
• Heart attack
• ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) (severe type of heart attack)

Advanced Heart Attack Treatment

We perform percutaneous coronary interventions (PCIs) for STEMIs in our state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization lab. Also called coronary angioplasty and stenting, this catheter-guided procedure widens blocked arteries and restores blood flow to the heart.

We strive to keep our “door-to- balloon time” low for STEMI treatment (time when a heart attack patient enters our ED to when a balloon is inflated in the blocked artery). With a heart attack, every minute counts, so we count the minutes. Learn about our expertise in cardiac catheterization. 

The heart surgery program at UMass Memorial Medical Center is also recognized for our expertise in coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. This procedure reroutes blood around a blocked artery to restore circulation to the heart. Learn more about CABG. 
 

Mechanical Circulatory Support

Mechanical circulatory support devices help your heart pump blood. People with severe heart damage, heart failure or those in cardiogenic shock may need this support. We offer:

Left ventricular assist device (LVAD): An LVAD improves heart function in people with advanced heart failure who are waiting for a heart transplant or aren’t candidates for transplant. We surgically implant an LVAD in your heart. Learn about our Ventricular Assist Device Program.

Impella pump: Impella, the world’s smallest heart pump, is a temporary device inserted in your heart with a catheter. It can help your heart recover from a heart attack or heart muscle disease. It also provides short-term circulatory support for high-risk patients during heart procedures.

ECMO: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a life-support system that does the work of your heart and lungs. ECMO is for critically ill people who have severe organ failure or who are waiting for surgery.

Signs of a Cardiac Emergency

Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room if you or someone else experiences the following symptoms:

• Chest pain
• Dizziness
• Extreme fatigue
• Fainting
• Nausea and vomiting
• Pounding heart
• Shortness of breath
• Unexplained sweating