A team standing ready 24/7 to triage and treat life-threatening blood clots
University Hospital is now among just 24 hospitals in the U.S. with an accredited “PERT.”
What’s a PERT? It’s a Pulmonary Embolism Response Team and it operates much like the Level I trauma team at University Hospital. However, instead of providing immediate care to seriously injured patients, this team is saving lives by rapidly diagnosing and successfully treating pulmonary embolisms or clots that can travel from a vein in the leg or pelvis to the lungs, creating a risk for shock or death.
When minutes count the PERT team responds.
The PERT rapid response team includes cardiologists, hematologists, radiologists, ECMO, vascular surgeons and the medical intensive care unit, all of whom stand ready to respond 24/7. As of this month, University Hospital’s PERT has earned accreditation by thePERT Consortium. To date, just 24 heart programs in the United States have been designated as Pulmonary Embolism Centers of Excellence. That’s because the investment, expertise and commitment is significant, requiring programs to offer advanced catheter interventions, surgical treatments and mechanical circulatory support. The team also contributes to future advancements through research and discovery.
“This accreditation reflects the successful completion of a rigorous and comprehensive review process, and we commend your team’s unwavering dedication to advancing high-quality, multidisciplinary care for patients with pulmonary embolism,” the PERT consortium said in its notification letter.
Preventing a heart-related death
Pulmonary embolisms are a major cause of cardiovascular death, ranked as the third leading cause of heart-related deaths. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC, say it is a significant and often preventable cause of death when diagnosed and treated effectively. That’s the PERT team’s mission.
Treatment may include blood-thinning medications, clot-dissolving medicines, surgery and continued care.
A regional leader using advanced technologies.
The PERT certification denotes that University Health has built one of the region’s most cohesive, multidisciplinary programs for the management of pulmonary embolisms, according to Dr. Anand Prasad, director of the University Health Cardiovascular Center and an interventional cardiologist who specializes in treating peripheral vascular disease.
“Our program uses team communication technology, real-time decision making and evidence-based algorithms. We offer patients the latest in therapies including hemodynamic support with ECMO and advanced catheter-based therapies,” Dr. Prasad said.
