Lack of blood supply to heart muscle can cause lasting heart damage. In certain types of heart attacks, a small balloon is threaded into a blood vessel in the heart. This opens up a clogged artery that keeps the blood from flowing to the heart muscle. It is important that this therapy, known as PCI, be given quickly after a heart attack is diagnosed. This measure reports how quickly heart attack patients had their clogged artery opened with PCI to increase blood flow to the heart and reduce heart damage.

Source of information: Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations