Lindley serves as the medical director for cardiovascular services for Intermountain’s north market and medical staff president at Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital.

He said when he took over as medical director six years ago, he had the clear goal of McKay-Dee becoming the flagship cardiovascular hospital in Northern Utah and Idaho — a place set apart from anywhere else.

“And we did it. We have a great health care team of physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, medical assistants and techs,” he said. “We also have really wonderful charitable care, so I never have to stop and ask my patient for their insurance, and that’s especially helpful because when we see most people, it’s usually during an emergency situation.”

Last week, Intermountain McKay-Dee Hospital was ranked as the No. 1 teaching hospital in the nation without a cardiovascular residency program.

Premier Inc., a subsidiary of Fortune Magazine, also ranked the hospital as one of the top 50 heart hospitals in the country.

“We are really proud of the ranking and it shows our goals and hard work have paid off,” Lindley said. “By innovating with patients in mind, we are helping tackle one of the biggest issues facing our community.”

If all hospitals could have similar rankings, there would be 14,000 fewer deaths, 28,600 fewer bypass and angioplasty complications and a savings of about $1.5 billion on inpatient costs, according to the report.

Lindley said heart disease remains the top killer of both men and women in the United States.

“If you are having a heart attack and you stay home and don’t come in right away for medical care, your chances of survival are about 50/50. If you make it to the hospital alive, your chances of surviving is about 95%,” Lindley said. “With the high modern advancement in treatment we have, we can get you optimal care, but you have to come in. A lot of people sit home and ignore their symptoms or they don’t tell their loved ones.”

Lindley said women tend to ignore their symptoms longer than men, but sometimes that’s because they can experience atypical symptoms and may not realize they’re having a heart attack.

“By the time they get to the hospital, they’re not as likely to get diagnosed in a timely fashion,” he said. “The typical symptoms for both men and women is chest pain or discomfort that may or may not radiate to the jaw, arm, back or stomach. Some atypical symptoms in women may be only nausea or only back pain, for instance. Sometimes, they’ll come in three days later and say they didn’t have arm or jaw pain, so they didn’t think they were having a heart attack.”

Other symptoms of a heart attack or heart disease can include sudden fatigue, dizziness, shortness of breath, or swelling of the feet, legs or abdomen. According to the American Heart Association, not only is it the No. 1 cause of death, it’s also the costliest disease in the country. The association also reports that a cardiovascular death occurs every 34 seconds, taking the lives of nearly 2,500 people per day. Risks include high blood pressure and cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, unhealthy diets, too much alcohol use, and even stress and depression.

“It’s very important to start getting your blood pressure and cholesterol checked beginning at age 35 and then following up every year thereafter,” Lindley said. “We want people to know we’re here and we’re available. We have enough providers that you don’t have to wait six months to get in to see us. And again, we have elite cardiovascular care right here close to home.”

Intermountain Medical Center in Murray ranked third for hospitals with a cardiovascular residency program and Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital ranked fourth among community hospitals.

“Having three Intermountain Health hospitals on this list shows our system wide focus on providing the very best cardiovascular care to patients throughout the communities that we serve,” said Dr. Blake Gardner, senior medical director of the heart and vascular program at Intermountain Health, in a news release.