Clot Busters: They can save your life
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The clot buster, or TNK, is a drug that could mean the difference between life and death.
"There's a medication that many people call the clot buster. It's for heart attacks, and if we give it within a timely manner we can save a lot of heart muscle - a lot of heart damage," says Dr. Michael Westcott, M.D., Director of Emergency Services at Alegent Health Midlands Hospital.
Nationally, the time taken to administer the drug is 30 minutes or greater, but at Midlands Hospital, the time is between 15 and 17 minutes. That's from the time the squad drops you at the door until the time that doctors determine that the clot buster, TNK is what you need.
"The drug works fairly rapidly," says Dr.
Westcott. "What it does is open up a blocked blood vessel - what really causes a heart attack, and if we open that up, we can save heart muscle.
Midlands is the only hospital in Sarpy County and it can take some squads 30 minutes to reach the emergency room.
"We have about 250 squad rescue visits a month," says Dr. Westcott. "We see approximately 15 thousand patients per year and it's been growing every year for the last several years.
Dr. Westcott adds, "We know this is something we can do here that will really make an impact on people's lives. The longer we wait the more muscle we lose, and it's just become a priority."
Midlands sees 20 patients every three months who desperately need that clot buster. Dr. Westcott says the professionals at Midlands Hospital are confident they can get it to them in the time it takes to do some good.
