News Taffy

February is Heart Disease Awareness month so all month long I will write about heart disease and what you can do to prevent it and recognize it. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States but there are things you can do to reduce your risk. People are often unaware that they have heart disease until they have a heart attack. This month we will learn about risk factors that lead to heart disease, the difference between sudden cardiac arrest and a heart attack and new treatments available.

You may have seen this information before but it pays to remind yourself about the warning signs of a heart attack. The faster you get medical help when you are having a heart attack, the better your outcome will be. If you or a loved one experiences any of the following symptoms, call an ambulance right away. Seconds do count! Don’t try to drive yourself or someone else to the hospital. The emergency technicians can perform CPR and other life saving procedures that you can’t.

The warning signs of a heart attack may be any of the following:

-pain, discomfort, pressure or tightness in the chest, under the breastbone or slightly to the left, that lasts for more than a few minutes or goes away and comes back

-pain that radiates down the arms, shoulders, back, neck or jaw

-difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, as if you’ve been running hard -a heavy feeling in the chest

-sweating, especially breaking out in a cold sweat

-indigestion or heartburn

-nausea or vomiting

-feeling weak for no reason, dizzy, light headed, fainting

-anxiety, a feeling of impending doom, a feeling that you are about to die

-rapid or irregular heart beats

Women are more likely to experience shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain than men and may also have the following, slightly different, symptoms:

-upper back or shoulder pain

-pressure or pain in the center of the chest

-unusual, severe fatigue, feeling too weak to hold a piece of paper, even days before the heart attack

-women may also feel very little chest pain

It is especially important to act quickly if you experience more than one of these symptoms. Unfortunately, many people waste time in denial that they could be having a heart attack. The longer you wait to seek help, the more damage is done to your heart muscle or the greater the chance that you could die.

Next week we will learn about St. Bernard’s STEMI program and how it saves lives.