Chicago-based Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute has seen a 130% increase in aortic dissection surgeries since 2018 thanks to its referral program.
The Code Aorta referral program, established in 2020, allows physicians to call the institute’s external transfer line and be connected with a cardiac surgeon and vascular surgeon within two minutes. Together, they determine the next best steps for the patient, and in cases of a life-threatening aortic emergency, patients can be transferred to the institute. Upon arrival, the EMTs take the patient straight to the cardiac operating room.
“That saves a tremendous amount of time on the back end,” Christopher Mehta, MD, director of the Code Aorta program at Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute, told Becker’s. “These are incredibly time-sensitive, life-threatening emergencies where every hour counts and every hour of delayed treatment puts patients at greater risk of dying. That’s why we developed this program — to get patients to definitive treatment as quickly as possible.”
With this approach, patients can undergo surgery almost two hours faster than the traditional method.
Since the program began, the institute has seen double the volume of patients with aortic dissections, aortic ruptures and other aortic emergencies. Last year, the institute performed more than 800 aortic surgeries, a 7% increase year-over-year. This has made the center one of the few high-volume aortic centers in the nation.
Originally, the program was designed to serve the greater Chicago area, but the institute has received calls from hospitals as far as Michigan, Indianapolis and Iowa.
“Essentially, we serve the entire Midwest when needed,” Dr. Mehta said.
To meet growing demand, Northwestern Medicine is creating a hub-and-spoke model so regional hospitals can perform aortic procedures through their own Code Aorta programs.
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