Case Study: Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Dept achieves 25% improvement in 90-minute door-to-balloon compliance with Pulsara

How one EMS and hospital system worked together to cut door-to-balloon time for STEMI patients

Cy‑Fair Volunteer Fire Dept, an EMS provider serving 155 square miles outside Houston and responding to roughly 25,000 911 calls annually (including over 200 STEMI cases), struggled with near‑zero data exchange with North Cypress Medical Center and only met a 90‑minute door‑to‑balloon goal in 60% of cases. To address unreliable field‑to‑hospital communications and improve cardiac care timelines, Cy‑Fair implemented the Pulsara mobile communication platform.

Pulsara provided real‑time alerts, unified team notifications, and pre‑registration from the field, enabling faster coordination between EMS and hospital teams. Within a year (Dec 2015) Cy‑Fair improved the percentage of STEMI patients meeting the ≤90‑minute door‑to‑balloon goal from 60% to 85% (a 25% improvement); one case saw ER/cath lab/cardiologist activation in 4 minutes and artery opening 31 minutes after EMS arrival. The improvement earned Cy‑Fair the AHA Mission: Lifeline EMS Gold Plus Award, and Pulsara is now being expanded for stroke activations and to additional hospitals.

Cy-Fair Volunteer Fire Dept

Mark Price

QA/QI Coordinator