Emergency Measures for Heart and Stroke: Episode

at 11:55AM, 1:55PM, and 3:55PM

If someone was having a heart attack, would you know what to do? Are you able to recognize the symptoms? What you do in the matter of minutes could save someone’s life.

Every year, approximately 1.1 million Americans suffer a heart attack and about 460,000 of those heart attacks are fatal. According to the National Lung, Heart and Blood Institute, about half of those deaths occur within 1 hour of the start of symptoms and before the person reaches the hospital.

Dr. Norman Feinsmith, Director of the Cardiac Clinic at Presbyterian Medical Center, sits down with Suzanne to explain the warning signs of a heart attack or stroke and helps us learn what to do in an emergency situation.

How Can I Tell If Someone’s Having a Heart Attack?

There are several classic symptoms associated with having a heart attack. Dr. Feinsmith lists some of them as the following:

• Chest discomfort
• Discomfort in other areas of upper body
• Shortness of breath
• Sweating
• Light headedness
• Nausea
• Passing out
• Generalized weakness

Discomfort in the chest can radiate to the throat, the back and to the arms. Be on the lookout for pain in the neck and jaw areas as well. When looking for shortness of breath, keep in mind that if someone has just walked up a flight of stairs or just finished jogging, shortness of breath can be expected. However, if someone is simply sitting down, relaxing and experiencing a shortness of breath, there could be a heart problem.

What Happens During a Stroke?

As the third leading cause of death in the United States, a stroke can be described as a heart attack of the brain. Dr. Feinsmith says that the portion of the brain that is affected will result in body dysfunction of the corresponding body part. Look for the following as symptoms of a stroke:

• Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm and leg, 1 side of the body
• Tingling on 1 side of the body
• Slurred speech
• Inability to speak
• Sudden confusion
• Vision disturbance
• Difficulty walking
• Dizziness, loss of balance
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause

The symptoms of a stroke are very variable, says Dr. Feinsmith, and depend on where the actual event takes place in the brain. Sometimes a person who suffers from a stroke can be saved from disability within the first three hours. However, it’s important to seek medical help as soon as possible.

In the past five years, there has been a significant growth in modalities shown to decrease the amount of injury to the brain caused by a stroke. For example, Dr. Feinsmith speaks of the clot-dissolving drug TPA. This medication activates your body’s own clot-dissolving mechanism. And after surviving a stroke, both physical and speech therapy can be recommended.

What Should I Do?

The quicker anyone experiencing a heart attack or stroke gets medical attention, the better. Oftentimes, lives could be saved if we were aware of the underlying symptoms and did not mistake them for something else. Some people are afraid or unwilling to admit that their symptoms could be serious. Delay in medical assistance can also be due to embarrassment of “causing a scene,” or going to the hospital only to find it is a false alarm. Never underestimate an attack, be prepared, and remember, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

The best thing to do when you think someone is suffering a heart attack or stroke is to seek medical help immediately—call 9-1-1 and get this person to the emergency room. He or she may be in denial of having a heart attack, but don’t take “no” for an answer—take prompt action. We cannot label the chance of survival with a specific time period such as 15 minutes. It comes down to: react as quickly as possible and don’t waste any time. If for some reason,