Heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases remain a leading killer of Americans and a major cause of permanent disability. (Heart disease was the leading cause of death in NYC in 2006.) According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 1,000 lives could be saved each year if hospitals treated heart attack patients in a timely manner and followed proven best practices to prevent future heart attacks.

HHC hospitals follow best practices to treat heart attack and prevent future occurrences among our patients. As data reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the New York State Department of Health reflects, many of HHC's hospitals have achieved outstanding performance ratings in this category of care.

Also presented here is the 30-day mortality rate of our patients who have suffered a heart attack. Thirty-day mortality is used because this is the time period when deaths are most likely to be related to the care patients received in the hospital. This data includes deaths within 30 days of an admission to the hospital with heart attack, whether the death occurred in the hospital or after the patient went home, and without regard to the actual cause of the death.

• Treatment and Prevention
• Mortality