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You may be having a Heart Attack if you have some or all of these symptoms:
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Pain, pressure, fullness, discomfort or squeezing in the center of the chest
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Stabbing chest pain
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Radiating pain to shoulder, neck, back, arm or jaw
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Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
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Pounding heartbeats (palpitations) or feeling extra heartbeats
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Upper abdominal pain
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Nausea, vomiting or severe indigestion
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Sweating for no apparent reason
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Dizziness with weakness
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Sudden extreme fatigue
If you suspect a heart attack:
- Call 9-1-1
- Say "I am having a heart attack"
- Chew an uncoated aspirin right away as this can reduce damage to the heart muscle.
- Go to the nearest medical facility with 24-hour emergency cardiac care. Don't drive yourself. If you're not sure that the pain you are experiencing is serious, it is best to go to the emergency room to find out.
- Get treatment quickly. Clot buster medicine and coronary angioplasty work best if provided after the first signs of distress. so don't wait.
- Get to the emergency room without delay. Every Minute Counts!
In the hospital emergency room...
- The doctor will order an electrocardiogram (EKG) and blood work to see if you have had a heart attack. Even if your EKG is normal, more testing is necessary. A number of new tests make it possible to diagnose a heart attack more quickly and accurately than ever before.
- Emergency room doctors have been trained to diagnose heart attacks quickly and to start treatments rapidly to prevent damage to your heart muscle.
Be Clear, Objective and Persistent when describing symptoms and insist on the best care for your heart.
Emergency Cardiac Care
- New blood tests are now available to diagnose a heart attack more quickly and accurately
- Getting treatment quickly–at the first sign of distress–is critical for lifesaving clot-buster medicines to work.
There are about 500,000 heart attack deaths in the U.S. each year. At least 250,000 people die before they even get to the hospital. Many of these deaths could be prevented by acting quickly and by getting treatment right away, especially within the first hour of having chest pain. Women account for nearly half of all heart attack deaths. Heart disease is our nation's number one killer. Are you at risk?
Heart Attack Risk Factors
Check those risk factors that apply to you *
- Smoking or daily exposure to second-hand smoke (at home or at work)
- Past heart attack or known coronary artery disease
- Family history
- Elevated lipids (over 240 mg/dL. or HDL less than 35 mg/dL)
- Abnormal heartbeat
- High blood pressure
- Birth control pills (in combination with smoking)
- Overweight (by 20 or more pounds)
- Post-menopausal (and without estrogen replacement therapy)
- Sedentary lifestyle
* Excerpted from A Healthy Hearts Guide, courtesy of the Women's Heart Foundation
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