Tradition Hospital Launches 24-7 Heart Attack Protocol

Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital has set up a round-the-clock STEMI response program with an expanded cardiac catheterization lab.

Updated on Nov. 10, 2026 in Heart Disease

Pale cream stucco medical building with a covered ambulance canopy and lit glass doors under late afternoon sun, surrounded by sage landscaping. — Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital in Port Saint Lucie launched a 24-7 heart attack protocol in October, expanding its cardiac catheterization lab and adding specialized staff to speed STEMI treatment. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital launched a 24-7 STEMI heart attack protocol in October 2026, alongside an expanded cardiac catheterization lab and added specialized staff. The lab handled five STEMI cases in its first month.

Why it matters

STEMI is a heart attack caused by a complete blockage of a coronary artery, and speed matters because the heart muscle is starved of oxygen during the event. The protocol aims to shorten the time between a patient's arrival and treatment on the Treasure Coast.

The cath lab handled five STEMI cases in its first month, a hospital-reported figure with no earlier baseline provided. It is not yet known how outcomes or transfer rates have changed since the protocol began.

The players

Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital

Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital is a hospital in Port St. Lucie, Florida, part of the Cleveland Clinic health system.

Cleveland Clinic Martin North

Cleveland Clinic Martin North is a hospital in Stuart, Florida, part of the Cleveland Clinic health system that receives transfers of complex cardiac patients.

The details

Local EMS crews run an electrocardiogram in the field, then contact the emergency room physician, who triggers a cardiac alert so the patient goes directly to the cath lab. Patients with severe blockages or complications are transferred to cardiothoracic surgeons at Cleveland Clinic Martin North in Stuart.

October 2026: Hospital launched the new STEMI protocol.
First month of the program: The cath lab handled five STEMI cases.

Big Picture

The protocol extends the Cleveland Clinic cardiac care network to Tradition Hospital, linking local emergency response to a regional surgical center in Stuart. It mirrors the hub-and-spoke model in which community hospitals treat early and transfer complex cases.

Residents experiencing chest pain or symptoms of a heart attack can be assessed by local EMS, which can run an electrocardiogram in the field. Patients who need it are taken directly to the cath lab rather than waiting for separate admission steps.

The takeaway

Recognizing heart attack symptoms and calling emergency services quickly gives the heart muscle the best chance of limiting damage. Speed from first contact to treatment is the main factor the new protocol is designed to shorten.