A Ramara Township resident is praising Rama Paramedics and the cardiac care team at Barrie's Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) for the ‘gold standard’ of treatment she received after suffering a recent heart attack.
Sue Talampas, 56, is calling was getting ready for her shift at Casino Rama when intense pain hit her in the neck, chest and arms, according to a news release from RVH. Thinking it was just a result of existing chronic back pain, she was all set to wait it out. Then she started sweating profusely and that’s what set off the alarm bells.
“I knew then that something different was happening," she says in the hospital release. "Something was really wrong and yet I never thought I was having a heart attack. It didn’t cross my mind."
But she was indeed in the midst of a heart attack that would require immediate angioplasty and the insertion of two stents.
Talampas’ husband, Misael, called 911 and was instructed to give her two Aspirin. Upon arrival and after assessment, the paramedics enacted the Code STEMI protocol which saw Talampas transported directly to RVH’s cardiac intervention unit for treatment.
This ‘gold standard’ of care is achieved when a patient receives advanced cardiac care in 120 minutes or less upon first medical contact.
Heart-attack patients in the region now have access to this ‘gold standard’ of care thanks to the Simcoe Muskoka Code STEMI Protocol, which was first introduced to the county and Rama First Nation in November 2020.
The protocol was gradually implemented throughout the region and is a partnership between RVH, the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services, Rama and Muskoka Paramedic Services, and area hospitals. It means most residents with heart-attack symptoms who present to an emergency department or who call 911 are taken directly to RVH where the advanced cardiac team is waiting for them.
Ryan Kingsborough, paramedic superintendent with Chippewas of Rama First Nation, says they are "incredibly proud" to bring this level of care to Rama First Nation and the surrounding area.
"Our paramedics have worked diligently for years perfecting their clinical practice to ensure that our patients receive the highest level of care,” Kingsborough says.
RVH says it is well positioned to deliver advanced cardiac care. The regional heart program, a partnership with Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, opened in January 2018. Since then, the cardiac team has completed more than 6,800 heart procedures, including angiograms, angioplasty and pacemaker implants.
“Having these advanced cardiac services and a highly skilled team at RVH means that now the majority of patients in Simcoe County will be able to get life-saving intervention within 120 minutes of a heart attack,” Dr. Tony Lee, medical director of RVH’s cardiac intervention unit, says in the release. “This new cardiac protocol would not be possible without the full collaboration of all our health partners in this region.”
Talampas says she was impressed with how everything went so smoothly.
"It was such a wonderful experience right from the two great female paramedics to my care in RVH’s cardiac care unit following my procedure,” she says.
RVH says it is important to know the signs of a heart attack, including chest pressure, sweating, neck and jaw discomfort, nausea, shortness of breath, or light-headedness. Anyone who thinks they may be having a heart attack should immediately call 911.
