Contra Costa Co. has new cardiac system

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA A new computer is able to get paramedics a quicker diagnosis on the patient, while they're still out in the field. That information is relayed to the closest hospital, so doctors can begin preparing the right treatment. "So we lessen the time for intervention from the time of onset of the call to the time they actually get their arteries unblocked in the catheterization lab, by perhaps 15-30 minutes faster than we did prior to having this system," said EMS Medical Director from Contra Costa County Joe Barger. Health officials say that extra time can help improve the survival rates of the most serious heart attack victims by up to 40 percent.