Chest pain unit
A chest pain unit (CPU) is used to care for patients with unexplained chest pain. The first hours after the onset of a heart attack or other cardiovascular problem are crucial for the outcome and further prognosis of the disease. All of the procedures in the CPU are therefore directed towards winning the dangerous race against time, clarifying the causes of the symptoms as early as possible and initiating the right measures straight away.
Patients with unexplained chest pain reach the CPU without delay, e.g. via the emergency system. Examination, treatment and nursing rooms as well as a special cardiac emergency room enable fast and targeted care.
The close spatial and staffing links with the clinic’s hospital’s diagnostic and therapeutic wards (cardiac catheterisation laboratories, echocardiography department, MRI, electrophysiology laboratory, intensive care units and cardiac surgery operating theatres) offer particular benefit to high-risk patients. If the findings are normal, on the other hand, patients with no discernible risk and no serious heart disease can be relieved of their worries more quickly and discharged home.
Diagnostics and therapy on the CPU are based on the guideline recommendations of the national and international professional societies and are laid down in writing in clinical treatment pathways. Patients are cared for by highly qualified and specialised staff. The CPU of the Schüchtermann-Klinik is certified by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kardiologie – Herz- und Kreislaufforschung e.V. (German Society for Cardiology – Cardiovascular Research) (DGK) and thus meets current medical standards.