Approximately one million Americans suffer a heart attack each year, and about 515,000 of these heart attack patients die yearly.[i] Studies have shown that patients who get interventional treatment within 90 minutes of arriving at the hospital have the best survival chances, and lower chances of long-term effects from their heart attack.[ii] Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicated the average "door-to-balloon" times of the majority of hospitals studied was longer than the 90-minute interval.[iii]

The Philips HeartStart MRx Monitor/Defibrillator helps realize the industry's recommended 90-minute "door-to-balloon" protocol-and goes further to support "discovery-to-balloon" by enabling hospitals to organize their resources-before a patient even arrives. Pre-hospital transmission of the 12-Lead ECG helps avoid unnecessary delays to treatment.


With the MRx, a paramedic can quickly acquire and wirelessly transmit a suspected myocardial infarction patient's ECG data to the emergency department and/or other locations, such as directly to the interventional cardiologist. Prior to the patient's arrival, clinicians can use the transmitted ECG to assess, and if needed, prepare for lifesaving treatment such as Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) performed in the cath lab, or thrombolytic therapy.

Once inside the emergency department, the MRx monitor/defibrillator also now provides the capability to communicate real-time patient data wirelessly on the Philips IntelliVue Clinical Network. Beginning upon arrival, and as the patient is transported and awaiting treatment, this new industry-first enables continuous surveillance of the patient's waveforms and vital signs with an all-in-one device including advanced monitoring, built-in pacing, synchronized cardioversion and defibrillation capabilities.

Hospital Patients Receive Cutting-Edge Imaging and Ambient Settings

Philips imaging systems-from Computed Tomography (CT), Cardiovascular (CV) X-ray, Diagnostic ECG, Magnetic Resonance (MR), Nuclear Cardiology to Ultrasound-feature easy to use, patient-friendly designs while helping clinicians gain valuable insights into the heart for confident diagnosis and treatment.

As the newest cardiac imaging innovation for the Philips Brilliance CT 64-channel scanner, Step & Shoot Cardiac reduces radiation dose with better clarity in a shorter breath hold, aiding in patient comfort. This new feature provides high-quality images of the coronary arteries and heart anatomy at low dose levels. The Wisconsin Heart Hospital found that the Step & Shoot Cardiac feature delivered an 80-percent dose reduction versus retrospective helical CT angiography techniques.

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