When a patient has a pulmonary embolism, it’s crucial that they receive the right care, right away. A new team of experts at Wellstar brings together specialists from several disciplines to collaborate on care, quickly and accurately assessing patients and formalizing a personalized treatment plan.

The Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT), implemented systemwide at Wellstar, ensures that all our patients receive timely treatment for this serious condition. Pulmonary embolisms, or blood clots in the lung’s arteries, are the third leading cause of death among hospitalized people and the third most common cardiovascular cause of death. With this new initiative, patients have an entire care team dedicated to fighting those statistics. 

The PERT includes interventional cardiologists, critical care specialists, pulmonary experts, emergency medicine physicians and hematologists, who look at the patient’s case from multiple perspectives.

“In emergencies like pulmonary embolism, time is of the essence in treating this potentially fatal condition,” said Dr. Salvatore Mannino, Medical Director of Invasive and Interventional Cardiology for Wellstar. “With our new multi-disciplinary, multi-hospital team, several specialists can weigh in at once, speeding up treatment and making sure the patient receives the treatment that will lead to the best outcome.” 

If a patient needs to be transferred to another facility for treatment, Wellstar makes that transition seamless, with providers efficiently communicating between hospitals about the patient’s personalized care plan.  

Learn more about how Wellstar’s cardiovascular providers can keep you healthy at wellstar.org/heartcare. To make an appointment, call (770) 956-STAR.

After working in construction for more than 20 years, Brett Faucett knows all about the right building blocks. Piece by piece, a building comes together, but if one brick falls out of line, the whole system can crumble.

That’s why Brett knew something was wrong when the numbness started in his left arm. It came and went several times before he ended up behind the wheel of his car.

Sitting at an intersection, Brett was at a crossroads. He could turn right, attend his out-of-town business meeting, and ignore the sinking feeling inside. Or he could turn left and drive straight to the Emergency Department at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital.

“It’s really hard when you plan on going to work and you know people are counting on you. It’s hard to make that left turn and listen to your body.”

Brett took a deep breath and turned the wheel toward the hospital, forever changing the course of his life.