Primary PCI

Emergency Treatment For Heart Attack

The Norfolk and Norwich Cardiology Department is one of only 69 hospital trusts in the UK that offers an emergency life saving treatment for a heart attack. This treatment is called a Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention, or PPCI. This service is provided 24 hours a day, 365 days a year thanks to a dedicated on-call team of consultants, nurses, radiographers and specialist cardiac physiologists. These highly trained individuals ensure the best level of care is available for all patients during a medical crisis.

A heart attack is a medical emergency caused by an acute narrowing or blockage of an artery surrounding the heart. Symptoms can include chest pain, breathlessness, palpitations, dizziness and fatigue. Emergency treatment seeks to locate the narrowing or blockage and treat it in much the same way as standard PCI. A key difference between this and standard PCI is the time-critical nature of the treatment.

In the case of a heart attack a blocked artery prevents an adequate blood supply  from reaching the heart muscle. During this time, heart tissue can become damaged. The sooner that treatment can be initiated, the less damage the heart will sustain. Patients undergoing this procedure can be quite unwell and require extra assistance from emergency meditations and equipment. Following this, patients are typically kept in hospital for a another 3-4days for further treatment and investigations.

Patient Information Videos

The following videos have been produced by two of our cardiology consultants in partnership with the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital’s Medical Illustrations Department. These videos have been produced and uploaded with permission from the patients involved and the Medical Illustrations Department, and show some of the treatments and potential complications of this form of treatment.

Dr Ryding’s video “SAVING GEORGE a race against time”

Dr Sawh’s video “My Heart Will Go On”