Could I Be Having a Heart Attack?
Don’t let stubbornness or fear of embarrassment keep you
from getting medical help if you think you might be having
a heart attack.
According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute,
people often delay calling for emergency help after a heart
attack starts. One major reason: fear of being embarrassed if
it turns out to be a false alarm.
Quick treatment is so critical to surviving a heart attack
that health experts urge you to call 911 for an ambulance
rather than ride to the hospital in a private car.
You should call 911 within five minutes of having any of
these symptoms:
››
Feeling pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the
center of your chest
››
Having discomfort in one or both arms, the back, the
neck, the jaw, or the stomach
››
Feeling short of breath
››
Feeling nauseated or light-headed or breaking out in a
cold sweat
Get medical help even if your symptoms disappear after a
few minutes.
(
cath) lab, where Interventional
Cardiologist Jonathan Altschuler,
MD, removed the clot blocking a
major artery to his heart.
“
If Mr. Gebelein had procrastinated
any longer, he may not have made
it,” says Dr. Altschuler. “If he had, he
would have been left with significant
damage to his heart, and his quality of
life would have been altered significantly.”
Dr. Altschuler says too many patients deny or minimize the
symptoms of a heart attack and wait too long to receive care.
He is the director of the cath lab, which celebrated its 10th year
in November. During that time, more than 1,000 heart attack
patients have been treated. “The key is to get care fast,” he says.
One thing that helps patients receive care fast is AAMC’s
relationship with emergency medical services (EMS) in
the surrounding counties. EMS can transmit a patient’s
electrocardiogram readings to the Emergency Department before
reaching the hospital. If the patient is having a heart attack, the
cath lab team of cardiologists, nurses and technicians springs into
action. They’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Thanks to the cath lab, Gebelein received the care he needed
just in time. “I feel like I can run through a brick wall,” he says.
Competitive as ever, he knows now that he’s not invincible and
listens to his heart.
Too many
patients deny
or minimize the
symptoms of a
heart attack and
wait too long.
AAMC’s “Heartsaver AED” course teaches CPR,
automated external defibrillator (AED) use, relief of
choking in adults and children, and infant CPR and
relief of choking, as well as the use of barrier devices
for all ages. Register online at
AAMCevents.org
or call
443-481-5555.
Want to learn more about
heart attack treatment and
prevention? Our free booklet,
Heart Attack & Recovery
,
can
help. Call
443-481-4000
or visit
askAAMC.org/magazine
to
request yours today.
treatment is a key factor for survival.
AAMC is one of only nine hospitals in the
state to receive the nationally recognized
chest pain center designation from the
Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care.
Being an accredited chest pain
center means that AAMC has excellent
coordinated care with local emergency
medical services and provides rapid
diagnosis and treatment of heart
problems. The time from when an
ambulance picks up a patient until
the patient enters AAMC’s cardiac
catheterization (cath) lab is an hour
the majority of the time. The national
standard is 90 minutes.
“
Our rapid response, in coordination with
EMS, validates the standard of care that
few hospitals are able to deliver,” says Julia
Blackburn, RN, director of interventional
radiology and the cath lab at AAMC.
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