EHAC Mission
EHAC is the brainchild of our founder, Dr. Ray Bahr.
The primary goal of Early Heart Attack Care is to promote public awareness that heart attacks have "beginnings" that can occur weeks before the actual attack. EHAC focuses on intervention during these beginnings to help prevent acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) and cardiac arrest.
Early symptoms, such as mild or stuttering chest pain, are identified as major risk factors for heart attack. Adults often ignore these warnings and put themselves at risk for significant damage to the heart muscle, or even death.
The second goal of EHAC is to teach the public that individuals with heart attack symptoms be evaluated and treated in an emergency department (ED) or chest pain center (CPC).
Experts there are trained in the rapid evaluation of patients, bringing together ED physicians, nurses, cardiologists, and technicians who work as a team to establish a comprehensive management plan for patients with chest pain.
The ACC Accreditation Services (formerly the Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care) was established in 1998 as a nonprofit international organization dedicated to eliminating heart disease as the number one cause of death worldwide. We pursue this mission by providing education and accreditation to healthcare facilities to improve the care of the cardiac patient.
EHAC is a public awareness campaign intended to educate the public about the signs of an impending heart attack and that these signs and symptoms can occur days or weeks before the actual event. These early symptoms need to be recognized and treated early to avoid the damage caused by a full-blown heart attack.
The Symbols of Early Heart Attack Care
Heart Attacks Have Beginnings
This badge is for everyone in the community, as well as hospital professionals, and can easily be part of your community outreach, (which is Key Element No. 1 to our customers). We want everyone to understand that "heart attacks have beginnings." We want them to take the pledge and commit to educating others. They are encouraged to take the 20-minute course and we urge them to deputize at least 50 fellow hospital employees to commit to early heart attack care and stand up for the cause hospital-wide, which we will count on our official tally (now more than 10,000 strong). Once those employees take the pledge, they become ambassadors and they should have the tools to educate the community, and other people within the hospital.
Buddy Badge
Once hospital professionals -- Nurses, Physicians, Employees -- are fluent on early heart attack education, we want to encourage them to weave the "buddy badge" into the community outreach programs. It reminds everyone that an accredited Chest Pain Center is the smartest place to take someone feeling symptoms. The buddy badge emphasizes that individuals throughout the community - not just hospital professionals -- should be aware that they can help save a life by taking time from their busy day to assist someone who might be feeling symptoms, but unsure of what to do. We urge them to take action, assist the person to the nearest Accredited Chest Pain Center and, possibly, save a life."
To help us battle the high mortality rate of cardiovascular disease, use the hashtags #EhacSavesLives and #EHAC in your social shares.