CRANBERRY TWP — Cranberry Township EMS received national recognition for its participation in a program that aims to improve outcomes for patients in cardiac arrest.

The EMS service was honored by the American Heart Association with a Silver Plus EMS award for its continued involvement in the association’s Mission Lifeline-EMS program.

Agencies participating in the program follow a series of evidence-based treatment guidelines to improve patient care and outcomes for those experiencing severe heart attacks, or ST elevation myocardial infarction. STEMI is the deadliest type of heart attack and is caused when blood flow to the heart is blocked.

The Silver Plus award recognizes emergency medical services for care strategies that enable them to quickly identify suspected heart attack patients, promptly notify a nearby medical center and trigger early response from waiting hospital personnel.

Cranberry EMS’ success in treating those in cardiac arrest is 50 percent, according to a report by the national Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival. The national average of 36.5 percent.