On Jan. 3, 2023, cardiologists at McLaren Oakland received their first patient suffering a life-threatening heart attack, one that required an enhanced level of emergency intervention that would give the patient the greatest chance of survival.
The heart attack was the result of a complete and total blockage of the left anterior descending artery, the heart’s largest artery, which provides oxygen-rich blood to heart muscles. Without this blood flow, heart muscles can die, making it essential to quickly reestablish this vital blood flow.
Less than a month earlier, McLaren Oakland cardiovascular services launched its expanded capabilities to include this elevated level of care required to effectively and efficiently restore blood flow in patients suffering the most serious of heart attacks.
Led by interventional cardiologist Dr. Blair DeYoung, he said at the time, “Our northern Oakland County community has had greater access to innovative, lifesaving cardiac care since we started this intervention program at McLaren Oakland.”
Upon the beginning of 2024, bringing the one-year anniversary of the hospital’s enhanced cardiac program, Dr. DeYoung and his colleagues have performed more 50 similar emergency procedures.
“This first year, with 52 STEMI patients, has further demonstrated the critical nature that access to this level of care serves in surviving an exceptionally serious heart attack,” Dr. DeYoung said. “But it also emphasizing the demand the program set out to meet when we initially launched the program.”
Under specialized X-ray imaging, a catheter is inserted in the wrist or groin and threaded to the heart and the location of the blockage. Upon the inflation of balloon to open the narrowed artery, a stent is deployed and expanded, holding the blood vessel open to ensure sufficient blood flow.
“In 2023, that’s 52 people who would not have been treated as quickly as they would have been in previous years, and whose chances for recovery were increased because of it,” added Dr. DeYoung.
McLaren Oakland’s emergent and interventional treatment of STEMIs was part of the hospital’s larger, overall expansion of its cardiovascular capabilities to include non-surgical percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures.
“Enhancing the capabilities of our cardiovascular team was a key initiative for our organization, and we are grateful to see the impact it has had over this first year,” said Tracey Franovich, President and CEO of McLaren Oakland. “Special recognition is deserved to Dr. DeYoung and his fellow cardiologists Dr. Jay Mohan, Dr. Sibin Zacharias, and Dr. Timothy Logan for their stewardship of this program.”
The program earned full accreditation from the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission, a national accrediting organization whose on-site review of its capabilities affirmed the program’s ability to provide its level of potentially lifesaving care.
About McLaren Oakland
McLaren Oakland is a 318-bed hospital that provides primary and specialty healthcare services to the greater Pontiac and Oakland County, Michigan communities. Founded in 1953, McLaren Oakland has grown to a comprehensive medical community that includes outpatient facilities in Clarkston and Oxford, in addition to an inpatient hospital in Pontiac providing a range of clinical services including emergency and trauma care, cardiology, cancer services, minimally invasive robotic surgery, and orthopedic services. McLaren Oakland offers ACGME accredited residency and fellowship programs in anesthesiology, diagnostic radiology, emergency medicine, family medicine, internal medicine, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, pulmonary disease and critical care medicine, and transitional year, in addition to a CPME accredited podiatry program. Learn more at mclaren.org/oakland.
About McLaren Health Care
McLaren Health Care, headquartered in Grand Blanc, Michigan, is a $6.6 billion, fully integrated health care delivery system committed to quality, evidence-based patient care and cost efficiency. The McLaren system includes 13 hospitals in Michigan, ambulatory surgery centers, imaging centers, a 490-member employed primary and specialty care physician network, commercial and Medicaid HMOs covering more than 732,838 lives in Michigan and Indiana, home health, infusion and hospice providers, pharmacy services, a clinical laboratory network and a wholly owned medical malpractice insurance company. McLaren operates Michigan’s largest network of cancer centers and providers, anchored by the Karmanos Cancer Institute, a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers in the U.S. McLaren has 28,000 full-, part-time and contracted employees and more than 113,000 network providers throughout Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Learn more at mclaren.org.