Bev Teegarden, Memorial's Executive Director of Cardiovascular and Critical Care Services, added that the accreditation is based on the entire process of addressing heart disease, from community education on prevention to pre-hospital care, diagnosis, treatment and recovery.

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 people dying annually of heart disease. More than five million Americans visit hospitals each year with chest pain. The goal of the Society of Chest Pain Centers is to significantly reduce the mortality rate of these patients by teaching the public to recognize and react to the early symptoms of a possible heart attack, reduce the time from triage to treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.

The Chest Pain Center at Memorial Hospital has demonstrated its expertise and commitment to quality patient care by meeting or exceeding a wide set of stringent criteria and completing on-site evaluations by a review team from the Society of Chest Pain Centers.