Heart Attack
What is a Heart Attack?
A heart attack (also called AMI or acute myocardial infarction) happens when the arteries leading to the heart become blocked and the blood supply is slowed or stopped. When the heart muscle can’t get the oxygen it needs, the part of the heart tissue that is affected may die.
The symptoms of a heart attack can include:
- Chest pain (often described as a crushing, squeezing or burning pain in the center of the chest and may radiate to your arm or jaw)
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness or faintness
- Sweating
- Nausea
- Cold or clammy skin
- A gray or very ill appearance
Sometimes there may be no symptoms, especially if you have diabetes. Women sometimes have different symptoms, such as a different kind of chest pain and/or abdominal pain.
For more information about heart health go to:
Heart Attack Patient Mortality (Death)
This score tells you about the percent (rate) of heart attack patients that died within 30 days of going into the hospital.
This information is important because one way to tell if a hospital is doing a good job is to see if the death (mortality) rate for heart attack patients treated at that hospital is better than, the same as or worse than the U.S. national average. The death rates take into account how sick patients were before they were admitted to the hospital.
Lower numbers are better.
How is Cleveland Clinic doing with heart attack patient deaths?
| July 2018 – June 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Cleveland Clinic | 10.9% |
| U.S. national average | 12.4% |
- The difference between Cleveland Clinic and the national average is not significant.
- Only regular Medicare patients are included. People in Medicare Advantage (managed care plans) and people who do not have Medicare are not included.
- Learn More.
Heart Attack Patient Hospital Readmission
This score tells you about the percent (rate) of hospitalized heart attack patients who go back into a hospital again within 30 days after going home. Patients may have been readmitted back to the same hospital or to a different hospital. They may have been readmitted for heart attack-related care or for a different reason.
This information is important because one way to tell if a hospital is doing a good job is to see if the readmission rate for heart attack patients is better than, the same as or worse than the U.S. national average. The readmission rates take into account how sick patients were before they were admitted to the hospital.
Lower numbers are better.
How is Cleveland Clinic doing with heart attack patient hospital readmission?
| July 2018 – June 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Cleveland Clinic | 14.8% |
| U.S. national average | 15.0% |
- The difference between Cleveland Clinic and the national average is not significant.
- Only regular Medicare patients are included. People in Medicare Advantage (managed care plans) and people who do not have Medicare are not included.
Keep in mind that you should not choose a hospital based solely on reported data.
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Updated: September 2022
Heart Failure
What is Heart Failure?
Heart failure is a weakening of the heart's pumping power. With heart failure, your body doesn't get enough oxygen and nutrients to meet its needs. Your heart tries to pump more blood, but the muscle walls become weaker over time. These measures show some of the standards of care provided for most adults with heart failure.
Symptoms of heart failure may include:
- Shortness of breath from fluid in the lungs
- Swelling (such as in legs, ankles or abdomen)
- Dizziness
- Fatigue
- Weakness
- Cold or clammy skin
- A rapid or irregular heartbeat
Heart failure can be a result of heart condition due to:
- Hardening of the arteries, also known as coronary artery disease a heart attack
- Cardiomyopathy (heart muscle damage from infection or alcohol or drug abuse)
- An overworked heart (caused over time by conditions like high blood pressure, kidney disease, diabetes, or a defect from birth)
For more information about heart health go to:
Heart Failure Patient Mortality (Death)
This score tells you about the percent (rate) of heart failure patients that died within 30 days of going into the hospital.
This information is important because one way to tell if a hospital is doing a good job is to see if the death (mortality) rate for heart failure patients treated at that hospital is better than, the same as or worse than the U.S. national average. The death rates take into account how sick patients were before they were admitted to the hospital.
Lower numbers are better.
How is Cleveland Clinic doing with heart failure patient deaths?
| July 2018 – June 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Cleveland Clinic | 6.6% |
| U.S. national average | 11.3% |
- Cleveland Clinic heart failure death rate is lower (better) than the national average.
- Only regular Medicare patients are included. People in Medicare Advantage (managed care plans) and people who do not have Medicare are not included.
- Learn More.
Heart Failure Patient Hospital Readmission
This score tells you about the percent (rate) of hospitalized heart failure patients who go back into a hospital again within 30 days after going home. Patients may have been readmitted back to the same hospital or to a different hospital. They may have been readmitted for heart failure-related care or for a different reason.
This information is important because one way to tell if a hospital is doing a good job is to see if the readmission rate for heart failure patients is better than, the same as or worse than the U.S. national average. The readmission rates take into account how sick patients were before they were admitted to the hospital.
Lower numbers are better.
How is Cleveland Clinic doing with heart failure patient hospital readmission?
| July 2018 – June 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Cleveland Clinic | 20.4% |
| U.S. national average | 21.3% |
- The difference between Cleveland Clinic and the national average is not significant
- Only regular Medicare patients are included. People in Medicare Advantage (managed care plans) and people who do not have Medicare are not included.
- Learn More.
Updated: September 2022
Stroke
What is a Stroke?
A stroke, or “brain attack,” occurs when a blood vessel in the brain becomes blocked or bursts. The brain cannot store oxygen, so it relies on a network of blood vessels to provide it with blood that is rich in oxygen. A stroke results in a lack of blood supply, causing nerve cells in that area of the brain to be cut off from oxygen. When tissue is cut off from its supply of oxygen for more than three to four minutes, the brain tissue begins to die.
There are three kinds of stroke: hemorrhagic strokes, ischemic strokes, and transient ischemic attacks.
- Hemorrhagic stroke — This type of stroke takes place when a weakened blood vessel in the brain breaks. Bleeding, or hemorrhage from the blood vessel, occurs suddenly. The force of blood that escapes from the blood vessel can also damage brain tissue in that area. Hemorrhagic stroke is the most serious kind of stroke.
- Ischemic stroke — This type of stroke occurs when a blood vessel in the brain develops a clot and cuts off the blood supply to the brain. A blood clot that forms in a blood vessel in the brain is called a "thrombus." A blood clot that forms in another part of the body, such as the neck or lining of the heart, and travels to the brain is called an "embolus." Blood clots often result from a condition called "atherosclerosis," the build-up of fatty deposits within blood vessel walls.
- Transient ischemic attack (TIA) — A TIA should be treated as seriously as a stroke. A TIA occurs when blood flow to a certain part of the brain is cut off for a short period of time, usually 15 minutes or less. Although TIA is painless, it is an important warning sign that a stroke may follow.
The symptoms of a stroke can include:
- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, mainly on one side of the body
- Sudden difficulty understanding or speaking – you may have slurred speech or confused speech
- Sudden difficulty seeing in one eye or both eyes
- Sudden loss of balance, coordination or the ability to walk
- Sudden, severe headache
For more information about brain health, go to:
- American Stroke Association
- National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health
- View other publicly reported data about stroke care in hospital
Stroke Patient Mortality (Death)
This score tells you about the percent (rate) of stroke patients that died within 30 days of going into the hospital.
This information is important because one way to tell if a hospital is doing a good job is to see if the death (mortality) rate for stroke patients treated at the hospital is better than, the same as, or worse than the U.S. national average. The death rates take into account how sick patients were before they were admitted to the hospital.
Lower numbers are better.
How is Cleveland Clinic doing with stroke patient deaths?
| July 2018 – June 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Cleveland Clinic | 13.0% |
| U.S. national average | 13.6% |
- The difference between Cleveland Clinic and the national average is not significant.
- Only regular Medicare patients are included. People in Medicare Advantage (managed care plans) and people who do not have Medicare are not included.
- Learn More.
Updated: September 2022
