According to the twelfth annual HealthGrades Hospital Quality in America study top-rated hospitals had a 52 percent lower mortality rate than the U.S. national average when looking at the patient outcomes of 17 procedures and diagnoses ranging from bypass surgery to treatment for heart attack. When the top-rated hospitals were compared to the poorest performers, there was an even greater difference, 72 percent lower mortality.

Saint Agnes has achieved other notable heart attack care achievements in recent years, including being named a Mentor Hospital for Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI), otherwise known as heart attack, by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Saint Agnes shares this distinction with 37 hospitals nationwide – and only three in California. Saint Agnes has also achieved stellar door-to-balloon (D2B) times – the time from when a heart attack patient enters the Emergency Department through the time it takes to open the blocked artery. The sooner blood flow can be restored, the less permanent damage to the heart. At Saint Agnes, the average D2B time for 2009 is 55 minutes, with a Saint Agnes record of 14 minutes. The national recommendation by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association is 90 minutes.

The new 2010 HealthGrades hospital ratings are posted on HealthGrades’ public Web site, www.healthgrades.com.

State-of-the-art technology, research, personalized care and excellent clinical outcomes are all hallmarks of our Heart and Vascular Center. Even before Saint Agnes performed its first open-heart surgery in 1976, the Medical Center took a leadership role in providing the finest cardiovascular services available for Central California patients. 

For more information on our latest quality and safety records for treatment of heart attack and heart failure, review our quality report cards.

• Opened the Valley's first cardiac rehabilitation program, 1979.
• Introduced percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), 1981.
• Introduced coronary stent technology to the Valley, 1993.
• First accredited Noninvasive Vascular Laboratory in the Central Valley, 1995.
• Performed first minimally invasive cardiac surgery procedure, 1996.
• Solucient's Top 100 Cardiovascular Hospitals for Cardiac Bypass Surgery, 1999. 
• Performed first endovascular stent procedure for a triple abdominal aneurysm repair (AAA), 2000.
• Solucient's Top 100 Cardiovascular Hospitals for Cardiac Bypass Surgery, Coronary Angioplasty and Acute Myocardial Infarction (MI) care, 2001
• First in Valley to utilize the daVinci Robotic Surgical System in a minimally invasive cardiac surgery procedure, 2001.
• First in Valley to utilize Cardiac 3-D Color Mapping System for electrophysiology studies, 2001.
• First hospital on the West Coast to perform a total endoscopic coronary artery bypass operation (TECAB) using the daVinci Robotic Surgical System, 2002.
• Designated a Blue Cross of California Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG) Center of Expertise, 2003.
• Performed first Cath Lab ASD/PFO closure in Central Valley, 2005. 
  

To find out whether Medicare covers a particular service or procedure, use this link to visit their Web site search tool, Your Medicare Coverage.