Acute Coronary Syndrome Programme

The Acute Coronary Syndrome Programme is aimed at providing timely care for patients presenting with a heart attack (myocardial infarction).

In medical jargon, the term "door-to-procedure" is defined as the time taken from presentation at the hospital to the initiation of a treatment procedure. This "door-to-procedure" time is currently set internationally at < 90 minutes. This is the duration from diagnosing a patient with a heart attack to the moment the affected coronary artery is unblocked by coronary angioplasty.

By working with the nurses and specialists from the NUH Emergency Department, the NUHCS team has reduced the "door-to-procedure" time for a patient suffering from a heart attack to 45 minutes. In fact, 96.5% of NUHS patients were treated within 90 minutes compared to 37% in the United States of America (USA) National Registry of Myocardial Infarction (NRMI) reports.

Additionally, we now work collaboratively with NTFGH and the Singapore Civil Defence ambulance service in expediting patient care for patients with suspected acute coronary syndromes.

This programme includes the diagnosis and management of acute coronary syndrome which include heart attacks or its prelude.

The treatments offered include:

• Medical treatment with medications to help relieve symptoms and improve blood flow in the coronary arteries
• Specific surgeries depending on the severity of the condition such as:
  • Coronary angioplasty and stenting
  • Coronary artery bypass grafting surgery (CABG)
• Emergency treatment for patients presenting with a heart attack that includes
  • Thrombolysis (the use of medications to break down clots which may have caused the heart attack)
  • Coronary angioplasty and stenting/ballooning
• Optimisation of cardiovascular risk factors and care to minimize disease recurrence