Heart & Vascular Care

Cutting-Edge Cardiac Care in Your Community

White Memorial Medical Center Specializes in Advanced Treatments that Save Lives

Sabino Gonzalez and his grandchildren Jazmine, 6, and Adrian, 14, believe God worked a miracle — with a little help from White Memorial — to save his life.

The lives of Sabino Gonzalez and his family changed forever on March 13, 2007. Soon after picking up his grandchildren from school, Gonzalez, 69, decided to finish cutting up a pine tree in the back yard of his home. A few minutes later, Gonzalez’ wife and grandson heard him cry for help. Gonzalez had collapsed, with sharp pains in his chest and his left arm.

Paramedics rushed Gonzalez to The Heart and Vascular Care Center at White Memorial Medical Center, designated as a specialty center for the treatment of heart attack. Only 29 minutes after arriving in the emergency department, Gonzalez was in the hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab, undergoing a balloon angioplasty to open his two clogged arteries.

This lightning-fast “door-to-balloon” time was undoubtedly one of the reasons Gonzalez says he feels like a new person today. The American Heart Association and other key national healthcare organizations have determined that heart muscle damage can be reduced or even prevented if patients receive care to open blocked heart vessels within 90 minutes or less after arriving at the hospital. Yet many hospitals are not fully equipped to provide the best treatment for heart attack patients.

The Heart and Vascular Care Center at White Memorial not only meets, but often exceeds this 90-minute standard. Specific processes guide staff in rapidly and appropriately moving patients from the emergency department to the cardiac catheterization lab and performing potentially life-saving angioplasty.

This is only one of the advanced services available at The Heart and Vascular Care Center at White Memorial. Services range from preventive care to the latest surgical treatments, featuring some of the most cutting-edge technology in the region – all in one place.

For more information about our services, call The Heart and Vascular Care Center at White Memorial at (888) 488-1288. For a referral to a heart specialist, call our bilingual physician referral line at (323) 265-5050.