Your Impact: Donations & Thunder Bay 50/50 Funds Vital ECG Machine
Published Sunday, February 23, 2025
Dallon Lamarche, RCT/ECG Practice Lead, with the Hospital's newest ECG machine. This crucial addition made possible in part by Thunder Bay 50/50 ticket purchases helps reduce wait times and ensures timely diagnosis for cardiac patients.
Have you ever thought to yourself, “What would happen if I had a heart attack right now?”
Everyone should recognize the signs of heart attack: chest discomfort such as pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain, burning or heaviness; sweating; upper body discomfort – neck, jaw, shoulder, arms, back; nausea; shortness of breath; and light-headedness. Even if you're not sure, call 911 or get to the Emergency Department as fast as possible.
An electrocardiogram or ECG is one tool doctors use to find some of the most serious types of heart attack. Thanks in part to your purchase of Thunder Bay 50/50 Draw tickets, the Cardiac Diagnostics team at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre has a new ECG machine for faster patient care.
“Every minute counts when dealing with a potential heart attack,” said Dallon Lamarche, RCT/ECG Practice Lead at the Hospital. “The primary focus is rapid diagnosis and timely treatment to improve patient outcomes.”
Doctors use other methods to help diagnose a heart attack such as history, symptoms, risk factors, physical examination, blood tests, and clinical observation. However, an ECG provides the best information for clinical decisions. Ensuring that the Hospital has a full fleet of ECG machines helps reduce wait times after a doctor orders an ECG.
“Although these methods provide valuable information, an ECG remains the fastest and most effective way to detect certain types of heart attacks, such as ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs), which require immediate treatment,” Lamarche said.
Watch - Your Impact: Faster Heart Attack Diagnosis
The ECG measures the electrical impulses that trigger a heartbeat. Think of a light bulb being turned off and on at the flick of a switch. However, the rhythms of a heartbeat are much more complex. The ECG measures those rhythms precisely, helping doctors determine if there is a problem.
ECGs are used throughout the Hospital including the Cath Lab, the Cancer Centre, Renal, for various cardiac related reasons as well as and in the ICU and the 2C Cardiology Unit to monitor patients including those recovering from heart attack. However, about 60% of ECGs take place in Emerge, Lamarche said.
ECG technicians perform about 4,200 ECGs per month throughout the Hospital or just over 50,000 ECGs per year. That's over 145 ECGs per day on average! To keep up with patient need, the Hospital recently added another ECG technician shift during busy periods of the day. This new ECG machine along with the new shift will help reduce wait times to ensure patients can be checked within minutes of needing an ECG.
“Historically, only two ECG carts were available to cover the entire hospital,” said Jill Kuzmich, Manager of Stroke, Neurology, Cardiac Diagnostics & Cardiac Rehabilitation. “The addition of a third ECG cart during the day shift has significantly reduced burnout for staff and wait times for patients.”
Your Thunder Bay 50/50 ticket purchases make a difference at our Hospital every day. Our dedicated and talented healthcare teams can't provide care without the right tools. With your help, the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Foundation supports the Hospital with the funding it needs.
February is Heart Month! Buy your Thunder Bay 50/50 tickets and find out what the Grand Prize is right now at thunderbay5050.ca or visit the Thunder Bay 50/50 store at Intercity Shopping Centre.
Article by Graham Strong