FALL RIVER, Mass. – Southcoast Health ranks first in New England – 8th in the nation – among the Best Hospitals for Heart Attack Care according to BetterDoctor, an independent consumer health website.

Southcoast Health earned the significant recognition in the BetterDoctor study because of its low mortality and readmission rates of heart attack patients and consistent use of best practices and standardized protocols for heart attack care.

This is an exciting recognition for the Southcoast Health Cardiovascular Care Center,” said Dr. Margaret Ferrell, Physician in Chief of Cardiovascular Services at Southcoast Health. We have a fantastic team of physicians, nurses, and clinical staff who are dedicated to providing the highest level of cardiac care to our patients 24/7. It’s gratifying to see their achievements, as well as our institutional commitment to cardiovascular care, being recognized on a national level.”

BetterDoctor used Medicare data to compare hospital quality indicators across six categories: aspirin at arrival, time to an electrocardiogram (ECG), how many patients receive primary PCI interventions within 90 minutes of arrival (like angioplasties, stenting or atherectomies), door-to-diagnostic evaluation time, 30-day mortality rate from heart attacks, and 30-day readmission rate for heart attack patients.

Southcoast Health is the leader of cardiac services in the region. The Southcoast Cardiovascular Service program provides a broad spectrum of cardiovascular services locally, including open heart procedures, cardiac catheterizations, coronary angioplasty and cardiac implantable devices. Southcoast performs more cardiac catheterizations than any other community hospital system in Massachusetts, with approximately 60 percent of patients needing advanced treatment such as coronary artery bypass or angioplasty.

Southcoast Health’s cardiac surgery program has brought unprecedented access to advanced cardiac services to the region and has received exemplary reviews and outstanding patient satisfaction since its inception including ranking as one of America’s 100 Best Hospitals for heart care and surgery by Healthgrades, the nation’s leading, independent source of physician information and hospital quality ratings.

Healthgrades 2015 clinical achievements for Southcoast hospitals include recognition as one of Healthgrades America’s 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Care and Cardiac Surgery for four years in a row, recipient of the Healthgrades Cardiac Care Excellence Award and ranking in the top 10 percent in the U.S. for overall cardiac services for nine years in a row, recipient of the Healthgrades Cardiac Surgery Excellence Award and ranking in the top five percent in the U.S. for cardiac surgery for four years in a row, as well as five-star ratings for coronary bypass surgery, valve surgery, coronary interventional procedures, treatment of heart attacks and treatment of heart failure.

For more information about Southcoast Cardiovascular Services, visit www.southcoast.org/heart/, and to view the full rankings by BetterDoctor go to betterdoctor.com/health/top-hospitals-for-emergency-heart-attack-care/.