Medtronic Spark
The Medtronic Foundation partners to improve health for underserved populations, as well as supports communities where Medtronic employees live and give. We strive to address different needs in different parts of the world by improving health outcomes for underserved populations, especially cardiovascular disease and diabetes; supporting health workers and strengthening health systems to scale and sustain health improvements; empowering Medtronic employees to positively impact local communities by leveraging their skills, time and resources.
Their Impact
Countries around the world are facing an increasing burden of cardiovascular disease. The goals of the HeartRescue Global (HRG) project were to improve access and quality of care for patients with severe heart attacks, known as ST-elevation myocardial infarctions (STEMIs).
Timely STEMI treatment is associated with significantly improved survival rates and other positive patient outcomes and reduced health care costs. Time to treatment for someone suffering a STEMI event is a matter of life and death. The amount of heart muscle lost from lack of blood supply with STEMI is directly related to the length of time from symptom onset to definitive treatment. However, many countries lack systems of care to provide effective STEMI treatment, particularly low- and middle-income countries that have many fewer health care system resources per capita.
HRG was conceptualized by the Medtronic Foundation following 5 years of success with the HeartRescue United States (US) program. HeartRescue US focused on reducing mortality caused by cardiac arrest. It started in five states and, at the time of this report, has now expanded to a total of 17 states.