Sanford Fargo Recognized Among Nation’s Top Performing Hospitals for Heart Attack Care

Sanford Medical Center Fargo has received the American College of Cardiology’s NCDR Chest Pain – MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2025. Sanford Fargo is one of only 323 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor.

The award recognizes Sanford Health’s commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of care for heart attack patients and signifies that Sanford Fargo has reached an aggressive goal of treating these patients to standard levels of care as outlined by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association clinical guidelines and recommendations.

To receive the Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, Sanford Fargo has demonstrated sustained achievement in the Chest Pain  ̶   MI Registry for two consecutive years (2023 and 2024) and performed at the highest level for specific performance measures. Full participation in the registry engages hospitals in a robust quality improvement process using data to drive improvements in adherence to guideline recommendations and overall quality of care provided to heart attack patients.

“We are honored to once again be recognized for our high standard of care for heart attack patients,” said Paul Burud,  Sanford Fargo vice president of operations for heart & vascular services. “When it comes to treatment of heart attacks, every second counts. This honor is a true testament to our heart team, who go above and beyond to provide the communities we serve with high quality health care to close to home. Our multidisciplinary clinic helps diagnose, treat and educate our patients throughout and after their cardiovascular event.”

The Centers for Disease Control estimates that over 800,000 Americans suffer a heart attack each year. A heart attack occurs when a blood clot in a coronary artery partially or completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscle. Treatment guidelines include administering aspirin upon arrival and discharge, timely restoration of blood flow to the blocked artery, smoking cessation counseling and cardiac rehabilitation, among others.

Chest Pain  ̶  MI Registry empowers health care provider teams to consistently treat heart attack patients according to the most current, science-based guidelines and establishes a national standard for understanding and improving the quality, safety and outcomes of care provided for patients with coronary artery disease, specifically high-risk heart attack patients.

For more information about Sanford Health, visit sanfordhealth.org.