Patients Suffering Non-COVID-19 Emergencies, Such as Heart Attacks or Strokes, Should Not Delay Care and Still Visit ER.
Ensuring safe access to emergency medical care continues to be important, even during a pandemic. The Emergency Department physicians and staff at Paradise Valley Hospital, a member of Prime Healthcare, remain available to serve emergency needs for non-COVID-related issues. Patients should not delay care when needed, especially for conditions where early diagnosis and treatment can be lifesaving, such as heart attack and stroke.
Recent trends suggest that patients are not seeking care for emergencies and delays in diagnosis are leading to poor outcomes. Stay-at-home orders issued by public health agencies make exceptions for those in need of emergency medical treatments. Signs or symptoms of medical emergencies should not be ignored. Those experiencing signs of a heart attack or strokes, such as chest pain or sudden muscle weakness, should still call 911 or visit the emergency room immediately.
“Our Emergency Department remains open, safe, and ready to serve patients and our community, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week,” said Neerav Jadeja, CEO of Paradise Valley Hospital. Jadeja added that the hospital is concerned that some people might ignore danger signs and postpone trips to the ER for fear of being exposed to the coronavirus. “We are well prepared to handle non-COVID emergencies as well as able to deal with an influx of potential COVID-19 cases, and are following all state, local, and federal guidelines to safeguard our staff and other patients from exposure.”
Paradise Valley Hospital is an Advanced Primary Stroke Center and has been recognized by Healthgrades as a Five Star award recipient for the treatment of heart attack and heart failure, and for critical care. The hospital has been awarded the Healthgrades Patient Safety Excellence Award five years in a row (2015-2019), and the American Heart Association awarded Paradise Valley Silver Plus awards for the treatment of heart failure and stroke.
During the current COVID-19 pandemic, we take extra precautions to segregate visitors to our emergency room who show symptoms of the disease. Those who are symptomatic of COVID-19 are taken into a separate triage area and remain separated from the general patient population for the duration of their stay.
Those experiencing mild flu-like symptoms should consult with their primary care physician while taking precautions to self-isolate and limit contact with family members while at home. If symptoms worsen, however – including a consistent cough and fever — visit an emergency room as soon as possible.
Information on the potential warning signs of a heart attack can be found here: https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/heart-attack/warning-signs-of-a-heart-attack. For signs of a stroke, visit https://www.stroke.org/en/about-stroke/stroke-symptoms.