Piedmont Augusta among nation’s top performing hospitals for treatment of heart attack patients

Augusta, Ga. (August 5) — Piedmont Augusta Hospital has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2026. Piedmont Augusta is one of only 350 hospitals nationwide to receive this honor.

The award recognizes Piedmont Augusta’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that the hospital has met an aggressive goal of treating these patients to the standard of care outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.

“Our team of talented physicians and nurses, in both the emergency and cardiovascular departments, collaborates seamlessly to follow these guidelines, improve patient outcomes, and save lives,” said Lily Henson, MD, CEO of Piedmont Augusta. “Residents of our community, and the surrounding areas, can be confident that they will receive the highest-quality, patient-centered care at our hospital, close to home.”

To receive the Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, Piedmont Augusta has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain  ̶   MI Registry for two consecutive years and performed at the highest level for specific performance measures. Full participation in the registry engages hospitals in a robust quality improvement process using data to drive improvements in adherence to guideline recommendations and overall quality of care provided to heart attack patients.

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that over 800,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. A heart attack occurs when a blood clot in a coronary artery partially or completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscle. Treatment guidelines include administering aspirin upon arrival and discharge, timely restoration of blood flow to the blocked artery, smoking cessation counseling and cardiac rehabilitation, among others.

Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry empowers health care provider teams to consistently treat heart attack patients according to the most current, science-based guidelines and establishes a national standard for understanding and improving the quality, safety and outcomes of care provided for patients with coronary artery disease, specifically high-risk heart attack patients.

For more about cardiovascular services at Piedmont Augusta, visit piedmont.org/heart.