Handle a heart attack

Loveangel

Prime VIP
Handle a heart attack



Many lives can be save if one knows how to recognise early warning signs of a heart attack. If you feel any of these, this is what you should do.

1.Ring your doctor immediately. If he is not available at once, get to the nearest hospital. Calling the doctor first can save time: he may be able to determine over a phone whether you are having a heart attack; if you are, he can arrange for speedy admission to the hospital and provide and ambulance, if necessary. In calling either doctor or hospital, emphasise that it is a heart emergency, requiring instant care; do not be put off by administrative red tape.

2.Use the fastest transport you can get. If you have to wait even 10 or 15 minutes for an ambulance, and a car is available immediately, take the car. Do not be too concerned about the bumps along the way; a moderately rough ride will not worsen your condition, but delay could be fatal. Try to get someone to drive you, and someone else to care for you on the way; but if no one is around, drive yourself. This is less risky than remaining at home alone.

3.While travelling to the hospital, sit upright unless you feel very faint. Heart pain is usually worse when one lies down.

4.If nitroglycerin tablets are handy, place one under your tongue-it may ease pain and stress within a minute or two. Self medication is justified in this rare instance.

5.If you are driving the patient, try to take a companion to watch him carefully. If he loses consciousness, and especially if his heart cannot be heard when an ear is put to his chest, stop the car immediately. Lay him down on a hard surface outside the car, place one palm two-thirds of the way down the breast-bone, cover it with the other hand, begin regular rhythmic compressions of the chest about once a second, forcing blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Continue until he recovers consciousness.

6.Perform this resuscitation also for a patient who loses consciousness while waiting for an ambulance. Failure to apply it within two minutes can cause permanent brain damage or death.

7.Find out now from your doctor which near-by hospital has a coronary-care unit, or emergency facilities, and how you can reach there without delay. The idea is to have the patient in hospital within one hour of the onset of symptoms.
 
Top