Alcohol Abuse Advice

What Do You Do When You Have a Heart Attack?

Copyright (c) 2009 Stephen Lau

Heart attacks occur when your heart fails to pump oxygen to some part of your heart due to blockage in one or more of the coronary arteries.

Approximately 1.5 million Americans suffer a first or recurrent heart attack every year, and of this number almost half a million do not survive. Occasionally, a heart attack may kill an individual outright with no “warning” signs at all. However, in most cases, heart attack survival depends on what is done before, during, and after a heart attack. Heart attack survival is important.

Knowledge is empowering. It is important for you to know and remember the heart attack warning signs. These heart attack symptoms include: chest pain or uncomfortable pressure in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes. This feeling of weakness or even discomfort like indigestion, often accompanied by lightheadedness, nausea, or shortness of breath, may disappear and then come back, lasting more than half an hour. You may or may not lose your consciousness when you have an attack.

Heart attacks may occur anywhere and at any time – whether you are at rest or engaged in an activity.

Be knowledgeable about heart attack survival. The most important thing to remember is: time is of essence. Do not downplay or deny your heart attack warning signs. Do not make excuses for your heart attack symptoms. Yes, these warning signs and symptoms are diverse and may not be definitive. However, it is better to err on the wrong side than to deprive yourself the opportunity of survival. Embarrassment at the thought of inconveniencing others, coupled with fear, usually results in dangerous denial and indecision, which may cost life.

Before an attack, you should devise and memorize a plan in case you are confronted with one. Such a heart attack survival plan includes: the name of the hospital with 24-hour emergency cardiac care nearest to your home; the names of people you should call for help; and the telephone number of the emergency rescue service.

When you think you are having or going to have an attack, take two aspirins immediately. In order to make them more effective, pulverize or chew them, and then drink a glass of water for faster absorption. Given that aspirin is a blood thinner, it may restore blood flow immediately through some clogged arteries, thereby instrumental in delaying heart muscle damage as well as buying you time to get to the hospital to get other heart-saving treatments.

After an attack, you may be transferred to the cardiac care unit after being stabilized in the Emergency Room. You will be closely monitored to prevent another attack.

After heart attack survival, your heart has to repair itself, replacing the dead tissue (a result of heart muscle damage) with scar tissue (tissue that has been damaged can never be replaced). After an attack, your heart has to adapt to using less heart muscle to do the pumping of blood. Recovery is slow and such adaptation may take several weeks. During the recovery phase, you may feel depressed and distressed with emotional feelings of anger, anxiety, fear, or hopelessness. To speed up the rehabilitation process, it is important that you do some soul-searching, and make a commitment to change your lifestyle. Self-reflection promotes positive lifestyle changes. Now that you have been given a “second chance at life”, make the best and the most of it. Do all you can to prevent future attacks.