Do you understand the signs of a heart attack? This is a life-threatening situation that demands immediate attention. Even modest heart attack symptoms should not ignored. Immediate medical attention reduces cardiac damage and saves lives.
What should you do and what should you avoid if you have a heart attack and are alone?
If you had a heart attack while in the company of others, calling for aid would most likely be your first impulse. But what if you have a heart attack while alone? Will you survive? Here’s what you should do.
A heart attack is a dangerous medical illness that occurs when a blood clot unexpectedly stops the blood flow to the heart. It is frequently accompanied by a persistent, vice-like agony in the chest that may migrate to the arms, jaw, back, neck, or stomach.
A heart attack is a medical emergency, and the first help delivered can sometimes determine whether or not the victim survives. The sooner a person receives medical attention, the better his or her chances of survival. Prompt medical attention can assist to limit the extent of cardiac damage.
Warning Signs Of Heart Attack
Pain in the chest, particularly in the middle, that lasts more than a few minutes or comes and goes – The sensation might described as heaviness, fullness, squeezing, or agony.
Discomfort in the upper body, including the arms, back, neck, jaw, and stomach. This might be pain or overall discomfort.
Breathing difficulty. This may be accompanied by or without chest pain.
Unusual feelings include cold sweat, nausea, vomiting, lightheadedness, or dizziness Women are more prone than males to suffer from these symptoms.
Other signs are:-
- Sweating cold sweats
- Vomiting or nausea
- Lightheadedness
- Anxiety, constipation
- Unexplained exhaustion
- Women are more prone than males to experience extra symptoms such as neck, shoulder, upper back, or stomach discomfort.
How to Handle the situation if this happen
If you or someone you’re with is experiencing chest pain or other heart attack symptoms, dial emergency immediately. (Confirm your community plan, since some require calling a different number.) While it may be tempting to drive yourself or the heart attack sufferer to the hospital, it is preferable to call an ambulance. On the journey to the hospital, emergency medical services (EMS) staff might begin treatment. They have also taught to resuscitate a person if their heart stops beating.
If you are unable to contact EMS, drive the patient to the hospital. If you experience the symptoms, don’t drive yourself to the hospital unless you have no other option.
Many people put off seeking treatment because they believe they are not suffering a heart attack. They don’t want to disturb or concern their friends or relatives.
What You Should Do Before Medical Help arrives.
- Maintain the person’s calm by having them sit or lie down.
- If the individual is not allergic to aspirin, instruct them to chew and swallow a baby aspirin. (It works faster if chewed rather than ingested whole.)
- After a heart attack, aspirin is the most often can be use blood thinner in the world, increasing your chances of survival.
- The majority of heart attacks have triggered by a blood clot developing in one of the blood arteries that feed blood to the heart. As a result of the obstruction, the heart can deprived of oxygen-rich blood, causing damage to the heart muscle, which eventually dies. Taking aspirin during a heart attack may be beneficial because it slows the clot from becoming larger, allowing the body time to break down the blood clot.
- If you have aspirin at home and are not allergic to it, you might try taking it while you wait for emergency medical personnel to come.
If You Are Qualified Perform CPR
The American Heart Association refers to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) as one link in the “chain of survival.” The chain of survival is a set of acts that, when performed in order, provide a person suffering from a heart attack with the highest chance of surviving.
The most prevalent cause of mortality from a heart attack in adults is ventricular fibrillation, a disruption in the electrical rhythm of the heart. Ventricular fibrillation is treatable, but it requires an electrical shock to the chest known as defibrillation. Brain death will occur in less than 10 minutes if a defibrillator is not promptly available.
Giving artificial respiration and circulation with CPR is one approach to buy time until a defibrillator becomes accessible. The rescuer can breathe for the other person and assist circulate some of their blood throughout their body by using a mix of manual chest compressions and artificial, or “mouth-to-mouth,” breathing. Even without mouth-to-mouth communication, “hands-only” CPR can be quite successful.
The sooner you start CPR on someone who is in cardiopulmonary arrest (no breathing, no heartbeat), the greater their chances of survival. You can maintain oxygenated blood flowing to the heart and brain by performing CPR until a defibrillator is available.
You are more likely to conduct CPR on a family member or loved one because up to 80% of all cardiac arrests occur at home.
Also Read:- The difference between panic attacks and anxiety attacks
How CPR Can Be performed?
CPR- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation- is a two-step procedure. It entails squeezing the chest to ensure that the heart pumps blood to the body and delivers artificial respiration by breathing oxygen into the lungs.
To Perform Chest Compressions
- Kneel close to the sufferer of the cardiac trouble and place the heel of one hand on the victim’s lower sternum. Place the heel of the second hand on top of the first and interlock your fingers.
- Maintain straight elbows and place your entire body weight on the heels of your hands. Press down forcefully and quickly to achieve a 4-5 cm downward movement. Relax and compress once more. Maintain constant contact between the hands and the sternum.
- Try compressing at a pace of 100 compressions per minute. After 30 compressions, do artificial respiration twice and maintain a 30:2 ratio until expert assistance comes.
To Provide Artificial Respiration To A Person
- Pinch the nostrils tight and take a deep breath before blowing into the individual’s mouth. Inflating the person’s chest should take roughly 2 seconds.
- Repeat the procedure several times. – Check to see if the person’s chest inflates as you blow in, which it should if enough air has pumped in.
- Rep this method until aid arrives or the individual resumes breathing.
Things Not To Do When Heart Attack Occur
1. Try not to depend on taking nitroglycerine
Taking a recommended medicine that temporarily opens blood arteries to enhance blood supply to the heart, such as nitroglycerin, is unlikely to halt a heart attack. You must still seek assistance.
“Nitroglycerin has not proved to prevent heart attacks or enhance survival much during an attack,” adds Assoc Prof Chin. It is more beneficial for people suffering from angina, a disease in which patients experience chest pain or discomfort when exerting themselves.”
Angina has caused by a mismatch between the supply and demand for blood to the heart, but it has caused by a restricted blood artery rather than a clot that has to break down. Taking nitroglycerin in this case may temporarily widen the restricted blood artery and provide relief.
2. Do not cough repeatedly
Self-administered “treatments” such as coughing repeatedly are most likely urban tales.
3. Try not to apply strain on the chest
Coughing frequently will not help during a heart attack, and exerting pressure on the chest area will not assist either unless the person’s heart has stopped beating (also known as cardiac arrest).
When a cardiac arrest occurs, CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) should deliver, ideally by someone who has received training in this area.
Is It Better To Lie Down, Sit Upright, Or Stand Up During A Heart Attack?
It is unlikely to have a significant impact. According to Associate Professor Chin, “Most people will be really uncomfortable and will want to lie down. Some folks may be feeling out of breath and hence prefer to sit straight. Allow the person to find the posture in which he or she is most comfortable.”
Will Drinking Water Or Eating Something Assist If You Have A Heart Attack?
It will not aid the patient. Most people who are experiencing a heart attack aren’t hungry or desire to eat anything. Eating and drinking are prohibited as much as possible during a heart attack since heart attack patients are prone to vomiting and may choke or aspirate on their vomit.
Will Using An AED During A Heart Attack Be Beneficial? In Which Circumstances Should CPR And An AED Be Used?
An AED (automated external defibrillator), like CPR, should only be used when a person is experiencing a cardiac arrest (refer to point 3 above on “Do not apply pressure on the chest”).
An AED should never be utilized. If the patient’s heart is still pumping during a heart attack, administering an electric shock to the heart may induce the heart to cease beating.
If Possible, Use An AED.
- Simple computerized defibrillators, known as automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, may be accessible for use by the public or the first responder in various sections of the nation. The purpose is to offer defibrillation as soon as feasible when it is required. CPR combined with AEDs can significantly improve survival chances in cases of sudden cardiac arrest. If available, early defibrillation becomes the next link in the survival chain.
- AEDs provide an electric shock to the heart via the chest wall. The gadget includes built-in computers that monitor the victim’s cardiac rhythm, determine whether defibrillation is required, and then deliver the shock. Prompts, either audible or visual, direct the user through the procedure.
- Most AEDs are intended for use by persons who are not medical professionals, such as firefighters, police officers, lifeguards, airline stewards, safety officers, instructors, spectators, and even relatives of patients who are at a high gamble of unexpected cardiovascular passing.
- AEDs cannot be used to shock someone who is not in cardiac arrest. An AED only treats a heart in an aberrant rhythm. The heart will not respond to electric currents if a person is in cardiac arrest without such a rhythm. CPR should be performed until EMS comes.
- When the EMS unit arrives, the next link in the survival chain is advanced life support care. This includes administering drugs, utilizing specific breathing equipment, and administering more defibrillation shocks as needed.
Be Prepared
- Nobody expects to have a heart attack. It’s always great to be prepared. You can take the following precautions before symptoms appear:
- Retain the side effects and caution indications of a coronary episode.
- Remember to contact the emergency within 5 minutes of the incident starting.
- Discuss the warning signals with family and friends, and emphasize the need of dialling emergency contact immediately.
- Know your risk factors and do everything you can to mitigate them.
- Make a heart attack survival plan that contains information about the medications you’re taking, your allergies, your doctor’s phone number, and who to call if you go to the hospital. This information should be kept in your wallet.
- Make arrangements for someone to look after your dependents in the event of an emergency.
- Learn CPR for a Family Member
Why You Should Take Precautions Before Heart Attack
- Exercise is critical in preventing heart disease. Most individuals are safe, however, you should take measures, especially if:
- You’ve told by your doctor that you have one or more of the risk factors for heart disease.
- you’ve recently had a heart attack or another cardiac condition and have previously been inactive
- If people with heart problems can examine beforehand, they can nearly always exercise safely. However, exercise isn’t appropriate for all persons with heart problems. If you’re new to exercising, start slowly to avoid negative consequences. Prior to starting another gym routine, talk with your PCP. You may also need to start working out under physician supervision.
- Despite these measures, your doctor may be unable to forecast health concerns that you may encounter when exercising. To remain safe, become acquainted with signs that may indicate dangerous consequences. Being aware of certain common warning signs of a cardiac disease might save your life.
Also, Read
