The American Heart Association applauds established STEMI and cardiac resuscitation systems as pioneers, having received little or no guidance from outside parties. Regional stakeholders have united to develop and implement a plan to use resources to deliver timely and high-quality care to STEMI patients.

As Mission: Lifeline^® helps establish more systems of care across the country, the American Heart Association recognizes the wealth of knowledge and experience that established systems have to offer. Tapping into these precious resources and creating an online directory of established STEMI and cardiac resuscitation systems will accomplish two things:

1. Provide guidance to newly developing STEMI and cardiac resuscitation systems, which can learn from the successes and struggles of their predecessors.
2. Allow established STEMI and cardiac resuscitation systems to network, explore other models and make ongoing improvements.

Mission: Lifeline has defined strategies for the ideal STEMI and cardiac resuscitation system of care.

In addition to ideal strategies for STEMI systems of care, the strategies for an ideal STEMI and Cardiac Resuscitation system are listed below:

• The system should be registered with Mission: Lifeline.
• There should be an ongoing multidisciplinary team meetings that include the community, EMS, cardiac resuscitation referral centers and cardiac resuscitation receiving center (PCI- capable) representatives or staff to monitor and improve cardiac resuscitation care process and outcomes.
• The system has process for pre-hospital identification and activation of STEMI in patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and specified destination protocols for cardiac resuscitation receiving centers.
• The system has processes for transfer of appropriate patients who arrive at cardiac resuscitation referral centers to cardiac resuscitation receiving centers.
• Each system component (Community, EMS, Cardiac Resuscitation Referral Centers, and Cardiac Resuscitation Receiving Centers) meets appropriate participating criteria.

Furthermore, Mission: Lifeline has defined strategies specifically for key players in systems of care, including:

STEMI Systems of Care EMS Referral Centers Receiving Centers

STEMI and Cardiac Resuscitation Systems of Care Community EMS Referral Centers Receiving Centers