"WNJ is excited about the addition of the Shimadzu Bransist system," said Pat Flynn, WNJ president and CEO. "This equipment will assist WNJ in providing leading edge technology, only recently made available to the nation, with its commitment to patient-centered care for which WNJ is known."

During a cardiac catheterization, a small catheter is placed into a blood vessel near the groin and is navigated by a cardiologist up into the heart using fluoroscopy, or real-time X-ray. Once in the heart, the cardiologist finds the blockage causing the heart attack and opens the blocked artery using either a stent (a small mesh tube used to hold the artery open) or a balloon. This opening restores blood flow to the heart muscle and stops the heart attack. Hospitals that restore blood flow to heart attack patients within 90 minutes achieve better survival results. At WNJ, the average time is 64 minutes, well below the national benchmark.

"Our physicians performed over 1,500 of these life enhancing and life saving procedures last year," said Flynn. "Helping ensure our cardiologists and health care teams have the most sophisticated equipment to save lives and improve our community's health is a top priority at WNJ."