Officials said the patient’s artery was opened by HMC teams in a record time of 25 minutes when the average time is around 50 minutes.

Paramedics at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), alongside doctors from the Heart Hospital, helped save the life of a patient who suffered a heart attack in a record time on Sunday.

An ambulance unit reached patient, Ali al-Rahma al-Marri, within a record time of eight minutes from receiving the emergency call, a statement said on Sunday.

“Upon his arrival at the Heart Hospital’s Emergency Department, the patient immediately underwent a cardiac catheterisation, a procedure performed for critical and urgent cases that require rapid intervention,” Heart Hospital chief executive and medical director, Dr. Nidal Asaad, said.

The Heart Hospital chief highlighted that HMC teams are constantly on standby with the latest medical tools.

“Our expert teams are equipped with the necessary technologies and facilities and are always on standby to handle complex cases transferred by Ambulance Service according to the highest international standards,” Asaad added.

“The ambulance team sends the ECG data to the Heart Hospital, and once the diagnosis is confirmed, the cardiac catheterisation team is activated, and the catheterisation room is prepared to receive the patient immediately upon arrival,” he said.

“In some of the most complex cases, the catheterisation, intensive care, anaesthesia, and cardiac surgery teams are all ready and awaiting the patient before his arrival,” he added.

The patient’s artery was opened by HMC teams in a record time of 25 minutes when the average time is around 50 minutes.

“The average time from the arrival of patients with a heart attack to the opening of the blocked artery through catheterisation is approximately 46 minutes,” the medical chief voiced.

“In this patient’s case, the artery was opened within 25 minutes of his arrival. Last year, our teams performed approximately 1,100 emergency cardiac catheterisations for critical and urgent cases,” he added.

Internationally renowned

HMC personnel are no strangers to saving lives.

Emergency medical dispatcher at Hamad Medical Corporation Mutaz Alrafayia was awarded the Middle East Dispatcher of the 2023 Year Award for his heroic efforts this year.

Receiving hundreds of calls a day, Alrafayia was applauded for his efforts in distributing the calls to HMC teams.

“We can handle up to 50 calls a day, sometimes up to 100 calls during a busy period,” Alrafayia said of his work.

“Every call is different and it’s important to be able to keep calm and to ensure the right people and resources arrive on scene,” he added.