Anyone
experiencing these symptoms for longer than 5 minutes should go
to your emergency room immediately. Many people delay potentially
lifesaving care by denying that these signs indicate a heart attack.
Chest
Pain
Don't
second-guess symptoms.
If you have steady or constant chest pain, the worst thing to
do is wait an hour to see if it will go away. If it's a heart
attack, more heart muscle dies every minute you delay getting
help. And with each minute, your risk of sudden cardiac death
goes up.
Here's the good news: New medications are saving lives and dramatically
reducing the amount of heart damage from a heart attack. But
early intervention is the key to survival.
Something wrong? Or is it something
you ate?
A heart attack may feel as mild as a slight pressure in the middle
of the chest. Because a heart attack can be mistaken for
indigestion,
the flu or angina, victims are tempted to take a wait-and-see
attitude. If the chest discomfort is a heart attack, waiting
to
get medical help could be a fatal decision.
A heart attack
can also feel like heart burn. However, if the burning sensation
in your chest isn't relieved within 60 seconds
of taking an antacid, something else might be causing the discomfort.
Contact your emergency room, particularly if your symptoms
last
longer than five minutes.
People with coronary artery disease are familiar with another
type of chest pain known as angina.
Angina is
usually a dull, achy discomfort or squeezing pain in the central
chest that occurs when the heart muscle isn't receiving enough
blood. When fatty deposits build up in the arteries,
blood flow to the heart decreases. When emotional stress,
exertion or
exercise increase the work of the heart, the narrowed arteries
may not permit enough blood flow to the heart, causing pain. Unlike
a heart attack, angina does not cause permanent heart damage
because
the arteries are narrowed but not blocked.
If chest
pain is unusually severe, feels different or does not subside
within
5 minutes. Dial 911 or have someone drive
you to a hospital emergency room immediately.
Timing
Timing is critical in treating a heart attack. A heart attack,
or myocardial infarction, happens when the flow of oxygenated
blood to the heart is completely shut off. Starved of oxygen,
the heart muscle begins to die. This usually occurs when a small
blood clot completely blocks a narrowed artery. The sooner treatment
is initiated, the more heart muscle can be saved.
Thrombolytic
drugs which dissolve blood clots can open clogged
arteries and restore blood flow to the heart. But thrombolytic
therapy should begin within 60 minutes to be most effective.
The sooner the patient gets treatment, the greater the chances
he
or she will survive with minimal heart damage. Minimal
heart damage means better outcomes and a better quality of life.
For
more information please call the Marquette General Heart Institute
at 906-225-4600 or 1-800-562-9753 ext 4600
