Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s Elfers Cardiovascular Center Honored With Quality Achievement Award

Newton-Wellesley Hospital has received the Get With The Guidelines®-AFIB Bronze Quality Achievement Award for achieving specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology/Heart Rhythm Society for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation.

Get With The Guidelines-AFIB was developed to assist healthcare professionals to provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines for patients with atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat that can lead to stroke and other complications.

Newton-Wellesley Hospital earned the award for meeting specific quality achievement measures including proper use of medications, aggressive risk reduction therapies such as safe anticoagulants to prevent stroke, the use of medications to stabilize the heart rate and rhythm and other medications needed to treat additional heart disease.

“Newton-Wellesley Hospital is dedicated to improving the quality of care for our patients with atrial fibrillation, and implementing the American Heart Association’s Get With The Guidelines-AFIB program helps us accomplish this goal by tracking and measuring our success in meeting internationally-respected clinical guidelines,” said George Philippides, MD, Chief, Cardiology, Newton-Wellesley Hospital.

Newton-Wellesley Hospital recently earned the Gold Plus Performance Achievement Award from The American Heart Association/American Stroke Association for achieving exceptionally high levels of performance in applying scientifically based principles of care to stroke and heart failure patients.

The Atrial Fibrillation Program, part of the Arrhythmia Clinic at the Elfers Cardiovascular Center, focuses on providing highly customized care for patients with this disease. A team of specialists at the Center works with patients to develop a treatment plan that lowers stroke risk and reduces or eliminates atrial fibrillation symptoms. The multidisciplinary care team includes a Massachusetts General Hospital electrophysiologist, a Newton-Wellesley cardiologist, a cardiovascular nurse practitioner and a clinical pharmacist.

According to the American Heart Association, more than 2.7 million adults suffer from atrial fibrillation. The condition accounts for about one-third of hospitalizations for cardiac rhythm disturbances and is associated with a five-fold increase in stroke risk. Proper treatment of atrial fibrillation can reduce these risks.

For more information about the Atrial Fibrillation program at Newton-Wellesley Hospital, visit www.nwh.org/afib or call 617.527.1335.