Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 2: How to Recognize the Symptoms of a Heart Attack and Seek Help
• Part 2 of 2: How to help someone before the ambulance arrives
• Tips
• Warnings

According to statistics, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. The damage to the myocardium that develops with a heart attack (infarction) can be reduced if therapy is started as early as possible. It is important to quickly and correctly recognize the symptoms of a heart attack and call an ambulance that will take the person to the hospital - this will significantly increase the patient's chances of survival.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: How to Recognize the Symptoms of a Heart Attack and Seek Help

1. 1 Keep in mind that in some cases, the person may not show any symptoms or they may be quite mild. In some cases, a heart attack occurs suddenly and is not accompanied by obvious warning symptoms. However, in most cases, a heart attack is preceded by some symptoms that a person often does not attach importance to. Early warning symptoms of heart disease include high blood pressure, a feeling of chronic heartburn, deterioration in general, and impaired cardiovascular function. These symptoms may appear several days or even weeks before the heart muscle (myocardium) is no longer able to handle functional stress.
   • In women, the symptoms of myocardial infarction are less noticeable, and very often they are simply overlooked or ignored.
   • An increased risk of heart disease, heart attack, and stroke is caused by the following factors: high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes mellitus, obesity, regular cigarette smoking, and old age (this category includes people over 65).
   • Myocardial infarction does not always lead to complete cardiac arrest, but complete cardiac arrest always occurs due to a heart attack, that is, myocardial infarction.
2. 2 Learn to recognize the most common symptoms of a heart attack. In most cases, myocardial infarction does not happen suddenly, "like a bolt from the blue." Typically, a heart attack begins smoothly with slowly increasing chest pain and discomfort that can last for hours or even days. The so-called "chest pain" (this is how the feeling of strong pressure on the chest, which is combined with pain) is usually localized in the center of the chest, this sensation can be constant or intermittent. Other common symptoms of a heart attack include: shortness of breath or shortness of breath, cold sweat, pallor of the skin, dizziness, mild to moderate fatigue, nausea, abdominal pain like an upset stomach.
   • Not all people with myocardial infarction have the same symptoms (or a group of symptoms) - everything is very individual.
   • Some patients describe the feeling of "impending imminent death," which refers to the unique symptoms of a heart attack.
   • For most people, myocardial infarction, even mild severity, is accompanied by a fall to the floor or at least an attempt to lean on something. Chest pain caused by other conditions usually does not lead to a sudden fall.
3. 3 It is important to recognize even the smallest symptoms of myocardial infarction. In addition to the main diagnostic symptoms (chest pain, shortness of breath and shortness of breath, cold sweats), there are other less noticeable but also common symptoms of myocardial infarction that you should be aware of in order to recognize heart failure and possible heart attack as early as possible. These symptoms include pain or discomfort in other parts of the body, more often the pain radiates to the left hand (sometimes to both hands), to the thoracic spine, to the lower back, to the front of the neck and even to the lower jaw.
   • Women are more likely than men to have less common symptoms of myocardial infarction (which include lower back and lower jaw pain, nausea).
   • Some of these symptoms also occur in other diseases and conditions, but the more of the symptoms listed above you find, the more likely the heart may be the cause.
4. 4 Immediately call an ambulance. If you suspect that a person has a myocardial infarction (or is about to happen), act very quickly: dial 103 on the phone.Even if a person does not have all of the above symptoms of myocardial infarction, the most important and only thing you can do for a person in such a serious condition is to call an ambulance as soon as possible. The ambulance team will start working as soon as it is on site, and the ambulance workers also know how to act even in the event of a cardiac arrest.
   • If for some reason you are unable to call an ambulance, stop someone from passers-by or people around you (depending on where you are) and ask him to call an ambulance for a person with myocardial infarction, and then transfer information about the arrival time of the brigade and possible instructions from the operator.
   • Typically, patients with chest pain and suspected myocardial infarction who are taken to the hospital by an ambulance receive the emergency care they need faster than those who go to the hospital on their own.

Part 2 of 2: How to help someone before the ambulance arrives

1. 1 Help the person to recline, lift their legs just above the level of the heart. Many experts recommend giving a person with suspected myocardial infarction a special position: reclining at an angle of about 75 degrees to the floor with bent and raised knees (in the form of the letter W). You need to put some kind of support under your back: if you are indoors or at home, pillows or a rolled blanket can serve as such support. If it is on the street, help the person lean their back on a bench or tree. After the person has reached the recommended position, free the neck of any embarrassing accessories (such as a chain, tie, or scarf) and undo the first few buttons of the shirt. Try to calm the person down and convince him to stay still. You may not know what caused the discomfort and pain, but try to convince the person that the ambulance team is already on their way to you, and you will be there until the specialists arrive.
   • Do not let the person walk on the street or indoors.
   • Calming a person down during a heart attack is a tricky task, in which it is important to talk less and not ask too many questions. Remember that answering your questions will cost him a lot.
   • While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, cover the person with a blanket or jacket to keep them warm.
2. 2 Ask the person if they have nitroglycerin tablets with them. Usually, people with cardiovascular diseases (and in particular angina pectoris, in which there is severe pain behind the sternum, radiating to the left shoulder and left scapula), are prescribed nitroglycerin, a powerful vasodilator that promotes rapid relaxation and expansion of the main blood vessels, due to which the heart receives more oxygenated blood. In addition, nitroglycerin reduces pain symptoms in myocardial infarction. People with cardiovascular disease often carry several nitroglycerin tablets with them. While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, ask if the person has a nitroglycerin tablet with them and help them take one. Usually nitroglycerin comes in a tablet or spray. The tablet must be placed under the tongue (sublingually). Nitroglycerin in spray form works faster because it is absorbed into the blood faster than nitroglycerin in tablet form.
   • If you are unsure of the correct dosage, help the person place one nitroglycerin tablet under the tongue, or press the button twice on the spray while aiming the nebulizer under the tongue.
   • After nitroglycerin begins to act, a person may experience dizziness, weakness and even fainting, so make sure in advance that the person is in a safe environment and will not hit his head during a sudden change of position.
3. 3 Offer the patient to take aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). If a person with cardiovascular disease carries aspirin with him, in the absence of an allergy to this drug, you can offer the person to take a pill. Ask the person if they have an allergic reaction to aspirin. If he has any problems with speech, pay attention to the wrists, there may be special bracelets with basic information about the state of health of this person. If he is clearly over 18 years old, give him 300 mg of aspirin and have him slowly chew the tablet. Aspirin is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug and, in simple terms, helps prevent a heart attack by thinning the blood and preventing it from clotting and clotting. In addition, aspirin is an anti-inflammatory drug and can help reduce the pain that accompanies a heart attack.
   • It is recommended to chew an aspirin tablet - due to this, the drug is absorbed into the blood faster.
   • Aspirin can be taken along with nitroglycerin.
   • The recommended dose for an adult is 300 mg - one aspirin tablet ("Aspirin Cardio", "Thrombo ACC") or slightly more than half of the acetylsalicylic acid tablet.
   • After the patient with myocardial infarction arrives at the hospital and rapid diagnosis, he is prescribed strong vasodilators, anticoagulants or thrombolytic drugs, antiplatelet and strong pain relievers (based on morphine).
4. 4 If the patient is not breathing, proceed with cardiopulmonary resuscitation. In cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), repeated chest compressions are performed, which stimulate the movement of blood through the blood vessels (especially into the brain), these compressions are combined with artificial respiration, which provides oxygen to the lungs of the victim. Keep in mind that CPR may not always restore heart function, but these emergency interventions can buy you some precious time by providing your brain with oxygen, which increases the chances of waiting for an emergency room with an electric defibrillator. In any case, it is important to learn how to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
   • When carrying out cardiopulmonary resuscitation before the arrival of an ambulance, the chances of surviving a victim of myocardial infarction are much higher.
   • People who do not know how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation can simply perform chest compressions using rhythmic compression movements without using mouth-to-mouth breathing. In the absence of the necessary skills to provide artificial respiration, you will only waste your strength and energy, because your help in this case will not bring the desired effect.
   • Keep in mind that timing is of the utmost importance when a person is unconscious and without breathing. If oxygen is not supplied to the brain tissues, irreversible damage begins within 4-6 minutes. This means that if the nerve tissue of the brain is damaged, death can occur in 4-6 minutes.

Tips

• When you call 103, the operator can give certain instructions on how to help the victim before the ambulance team arrives. Always follow these instructions!
• Try to create as comfortable an environment for the victim as possible and calm him / her. To prevent panic, distribute tasks and assignments among others.
• Do not leave a person with a heart attack alone (unless it is necessary to call an ambulance).

Warnings

• Don't drive if you suspect you are having a heart attack, even to go to the hospital. If the symptoms get worse, you could have an accident. In this case, the most correct tactic would be to call the ambulance team in a timely manner and calmly await its arrival.