St. Luke's Chest Pain Center
If you have
chest pain...
See Emergency
Care for Heart
Problems below.
First and Only Hospital in the Region to Earn Accreditation
St. Luke's Hospital is the first and only hospital in the region to earn Chest Pain Center accreditation by the prestigious Society of Chest Pain Centers, an international professional organization focused on improving care for patients with acute coronary syndromes and other related conditions. The three-year accreditation follows the Society's rigorous review of St. Luke's clinical protocols and the patient care it provides chest pain patients at both its Bethlehem and Allentown campuses.
Chest Pain Center Criteria
Among the criteria considered were St. Luke's demonstrated expertise and commitment to:
- Assessing, diagnosing and treating patients quickly
- Effectively treating patients with low risk for acute coronary syndrome and no assignable cause for their symptoms
- Integrating the emergency department with the local emergency medical system
- Continually seeking to improve processes and procedures
- Having a functional design that promotes optimal patient care
- Supporting community outreach programs that educate the public to promptly seek medical care if they display symptoms of a possible heart attack
According to the Society of Chest Pain Centers, heart attacks are the leading cause of death in the United States, with 600,000 dying annually of heart disease and more than five million Americans who 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 that it takes to receive treatment, and increase the accuracy and effectiveness of treatment.
Commitment to Treating Chest Pain-Related Symptoms
St. Luke's is committed to providing area patients with timely, expert evaluation and treatment of chest pain-related symptoms. St. Luke's and our EMS community have the highest quality staff providing excellent, leading edge care to our patients. St. Luke's is committed to continually monitoring processes to improve.
The St. Luke's Chest Pain Center Program is distinguished by a scientific guideline driven, systematic approach to patient management that allows physicians to streamline treatment time during the critical stages of a heart attack, when treatments are most effective and to better monitor patients when it not clear whether they are having a coronary event. Such observation helps ensure that a patient is neither sent home too early nor needlessly admitted.
St. Luke's Hospital evaluates more than 5,000 patients with chest pain every year at its hospital locations in Bethlehem and Allentown. Both St. Luke's Hospital – Bethlehem Campus and St. Luke's Hospital – Allentown Campus offer:
Your body may signal you that your heart is having problems in various ways. Emergency signs and symptoms you need to heed warning of may include:
- Chest pain, chest pressure, a squeezing or tightness of the chest, or the feeling of something sitting on your chest. It may also be described as crushing chest pain, cramping, burning or aching.
- Unexplained indigestion, belching, abdominal pain
- Pain that travels to your neck, jaw, shoulders, back or arms
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- A cold sweat or sweating
- A feeling that something bad is about to happen or doom
If you experience the symptoms listed above:
- STOP what you are doing.
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Get to a phone and call 911.
- Sit down or lie down and stay calm.
If your physician has prescribed Nitroglycerin, take it as directed.
Do not drive to the hospital yourself or allow someone to drive you in. It is safer to call 911 and they can start treating you upon arrival.
* It always is important to have a list of all the medicines (prescription and over-the-counter), vitamins and supplements you take.
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Marcus Averbach, MD
Medical Director, St. Luke's Chest Pain Center
- Awarded undergraduate degree at the University of California in Berkeley, California
- Earned medical degree at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he was head of the medical honors society (AOA)
- Completed residency program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
- Completed clinical fellowship and specialized training in cardiology - non-invasive imaging/cardiac MRI at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts
- Board certified in cardiology
Dr. Averbach is the only cardiologist in the region certified to read cardiovascular MRI studies. He is certified in SCMR Level III Cardiac MRI, COCATS Level III Echocardiography and board certified in Nuclear Cardiology.
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