You may well be sitting on your couch watching TV or talking to your family and friends in the dining room when an unexpected, sharp pain hits your chest like a freight train. It comes like a thief in the night.
You may be having a heart attack! This unfortunate scenario happens to many people around the world all too often.
Heart attacks cannot be taken lightly because they can be deadly. The steps that you take in the minutes after you feel that pain could be the difference between you living and dying.
That's why it is crucial to follow the proper procedure if you wind up in this scenario. First of all, here are some major signs and symptoms that you are experiencing a heart attack.
The most common symptom is chest pain. It may feel like your chest has a 100-pound weight because of the pressure that it is feeling, or it may feel like someone is squeezing it together with amazing force.
If you are experiencing this pain, you can try to take a nitroglycerin pill and sit down to rest. If the pain doesn't go away and continues to get worse, you are probably having a heart attack and it is a serious matter.
Also look for these other types of symptoms that coincide with the chest pain: excessive sweating, trouble breathing, vomiting, dizziness, fast pulse, or symptoms associated with shock.
If you have any of these symptoms in addition to chest pain, you need to take quick action so as to spare your life. The following are the steps you need to take if you are experiencing these feelings.
The first thing to do is to call 911 to talk to an emergency operator and get certified professionals to help you. It is important that you call as soon as possible because every second counts toward your life or your death.
Once you call 911, take one extra-strength aspirin or 2 to 4 low dose aspirin. The aspirin will thin out your blood and help prevent any other serious things from happening to your body.
When you call the emergency operator, it is best to request an ambulance. Doing this will put less stress on your friends or family, and more importantly it will give paramedics time to attend to your condition so that you have a higher chance of living and making it to the hospital.
If the ambulance is not an option, it is imperative that you have someone else drive you to the hospital as quick as they can. Do not try driving yourself there, because this could be extremely dangerous for you and for other drivers on the road.
As you wait for the ambulance, it is a good idea to find someone that you know that is CPR certified so that they can perform it on you. Having a person perform CPR on you can give you more time until the ambulance arrives and can be a life-saving mechanism.
Once you arrive at the emergency room, that is when you will carried to a doctor who will diagnose the problem They will determine if you are having a full-blown heart attack or not.
Once they quickly diagnose you, then it is time for treatment. The first measure that will be taken will be medication that will thin your blood, so as to provide more oxygen to your heart and lungs.
This precaution will prevent any sudden danger from happening to your body. Once you have taken the medication, then it will be decided how serious the heart condition and what steps need to be taken by the medical staff.
You might be given heart medication to take when you are at home, or in more serious situations surgery will need to be performed so that a blockage can be clear, or so a bypass can be made so your blood has new paths that it can take.
Hopefully, if you follow these simple steps, you can be able to stay calm and get the problem fixed. Make sure you and all your family know these steps by heart, because you never know when this tragic condition will befall someone in your close circle!
Author Resource:-
Terry Daniels has worked as a nurse for the last 14 years. He has worked in many local clinics and the ER and, like many doctors, is always looking for a way to re-certify his ACLS online.
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