Cardiovascular Center of Excellence

Did You Know?

  • One in three Americans visits an emergency department each year. Forrest General averages more than 80,000 patients a year in its emergency department alone.
  • Heart disease is the leading cause of death overall, but injuries are the leading cause of death for ages 1 to 40.
  • Stroke is the third leading cause of death, second only to heart disease and cancer.
  • Smokers in their 30s and 40s have five times as many heart attacks as non-smokers.
  • More than 9,000 lives are saved each year by seatbelts.
  • Airbags reduce driver fatalities in head-on crashes by 23%, and there are more than 60 million airbag-equipped cars on the road today.
  • Child safety seats reduce fatal injury by 69% for infants less than one year old, and 47% for children 1 to 4 years old.
  • 14% of deaths caused by unintentional home injuries are due to solid and liquid poisoning.
  • 0% of calls to fire departments are related to emergency medical crises.
  • Only 75% of the population is covered by the 9-1-1 emergency number.
  • Forrest General serves as the medical control facility for Rescue 7, the longest continuosly operating air ambulance service in the United States.

Source: American College of Emergency Physicians and the Forrest General Hospital System

Cardiovascular Center of Excellence