Jordan health ministry saves lives with 24-hour cardiac catheterization protocol

The Jordanian Ministry of Health performed approximately 1,350 emergency cardiac catheterizations during night shifts between February 1 and November 1, 2024.

These procedures were conducted under a new medical protocol launched in February to treat acute heart attacks. Health Minister Ibrahim Al-Badour stated that the ministry shifted from a previous method, where patients received blood-thinning injections before receiving surgery a day or two later, to an immediate intervention model.

The ministry provided technical staff to ensure hospitals could perform these procedures between 4:00 PM and 8:00 AM. This change aims to save lives, protect heart muscles, and reduce complications like heart failure. The ministry also reported that the new protocol saved more than 1 million dinars during the first nine months of implementation. This happened because doctors needed fewer doses of the expensive drug Tenecteplase, which costs about 780 dinars per dose.

The ministry linked several hospitals to ensure patients could be transferred quickly to facilities equipped for these life-saving interventions.