Heroes:  Field Heart Alert

    Cardiac patient, Dave Cole, says thank you to Roanoke County EMT Chad Wheeler for saving his life, but Wheeler’s training in Field Heart Alert is really to thank.
    It’s a program developed by Carillion’s Dr. Paul Frantz.
    “I’m kind of the designer or the architect,” Dr. Frantz said.
    When someone’s having a heart attack, field heart alert is all about speeding up treatment.
    “We can begin treatment in their home with this program rather than waiting until they come to one of our hospitals,“ he said.
    Starting with the 12-lead EKG, which is a 20 thousand dollar piece of equipment that not all ambulances carry.
    “Anybody who has trouble breathing or remotely complains of chest pain, I’m going to get an EKG done on them,“ Wheeler said.
    “Based on that information, they can make a decision of whether or not a patient is having a heart attack,“ Dr. Frantz said.
    The magic number is 60 when it comes to have a heart attack.  According to Dr. France, if you can get to a doctor within an hour, doctors can help you with little to no damage to your heart.  On average a person waits about two hours before calling an ambulance.
    “Our time-to-treatment once a patient arrives has been as short as 15-20 minutes,“ he said.  “We’ve had patients who have experienced life-threatening heart attacks who may not have made it to the hospital without this program in place.“
    Because of Field Heart Alert, Cole and cardiac patients just like him get the chance to say thank you.
    “The life saving training they get.  That’s what makes a rescue squad,” Cole said.