州和地方努力的目的是使肯塔基州农村地区的心脏护理更容易获得

峰会, 肯塔基州——几年前的夏天，他感到胸痛, 埃迪·史密斯直接去了肯塔基州东北部家附近的医院. 他的父亲死于心脏病发作, 史密斯之前被诊断出心脏瓣膜渗漏.

Smith's doctor told him that while there wasn't an immediate danger, the valve needed to be replaced.

然而, 心脏病 at a hospital in Lexington – about 100 miles southwest of Summit – discovered that Smith had an aortic aneurysm and an electrical issue with his heart that required a pacemaker. “我犯的错误比我意识到的要多得多，”他说. “我可能随时都有可能死掉."

Smith, now 73, had the motivation, the means and the opportunity to seek the best possible treatment. That's not the case for everyone in 肯塔基州, where census data show an estimated 16.5%的人口处于贫困状态. 全国平均是12岁.6%.

阿巴拉契亚地区的一部分, eastern 肯塔基州's mountainous geography and winding two-lane roads also make it difficult for residents to easily access health care. 开车20英里到最近的医院或医疗机构可能需要一个小时.

Smith said many people in his family have gone almost their entire lives without seeing a doctor. "It's just too much of a drive, too far away, too much of an inconvenience,他说. “突然之间，他们死于一些本可以得到照顾的事情."

(VIDEO: In 肯塔基州's Appalachia region, disparities in care add to a reluctance to seek it)

为了改善农村地区获得护理的机会，英国医疗保健的吉尔心脏 & Vascular Institute established an affiliate network to collaborate with hospitals throughout the state.

One program in development would allow residents without broadband internet to see cardiac specialists in Lexington virtually from their local doctor's office. 该网络还协助招募医生, 它还聘请了在资源不足地区执业的心脏病专家. In addition, it offers on-site and virtual conferences to share best practices with rural doctors.

"Our goal is to work closely with community providers and hospitals so that rural Kentuckians receive state-of-the-art cardiovascular care,”医生说。. Navin Rajagopalan是一名心脏病专家，也是联盟网络的主管.

"We have the obligation to make sure that we're able to provide the full breadth of services, 不仅仅是在心脏病学, 而是在所有级别的护理中, 比如肿瘤学, stroke and organ transplantation so that patients can receive the care they need as close to home whenever possible,拉贾戈帕兰说, 他还是肯塔基大学的医学教授.

其他州和地方也在努力改变现状.

In 2022, 肯塔基州 enacted a law aimed at improving heart attack response and treatment. 该法律允许医院获得综合性心脏中心的认证, primary heart attack centers or acute heart attack-ready hospitals in order to demonstrate their ability and willingness to treat residents with heart-related issues.

心脏病是肯塔基州死亡的主要原因, 该州在心脏病和糖尿病死亡率方面排名前十.

If emergency medical service teams suspect a person is having or had a heart attack, "they'll know exactly where to take them to make sure that they get the best care and the quickest care for the issues that they're facing at the time,州代表说。. 大卫·米德，肯塔基州众议院临时议长. “当然，对于心脏病来说，分秒必争."

肯塔基州 emergency medical services departments also are taking additional steps to improve outcomes.

弗洛伊德的奇迹, 他是一名经验丰富的护理人员，六年前加入了Jessamine县急救中心, 他说，当时心脏骤停的存活率“几乎为零”."

2019年，奇迹参加了西雅图的复苏学院. 学院, 与美国心脏协会合作, 开展救生实践培训讲习班. 奇迹说，由于该机构实施了学院的建议, 它的心脏骤停存活率显著提高.

奇迹, 现在是Jessamine县急救中心的副主任, and his colleagues are now sharing what they learned with other EMS agencies in 肯塔基州. 该学会指定Jessamine县为“EMS灯塔”, 也就是说我们是灯塔,他说. “我们已经准备好去传播福音."

美国心脏协会 线上电子游戏飞禽走兽 sent reporters to five states to cover rural health challenges, 以及美国农村的人们如何努力克服这些困难.