Heart attack
A heart attack occurs when an arterial blood vessel supplying your heart with blood and oxygen gets blocked. This loss of blood flow hurts your cardiac muscle. A heart attack normally induces chest pain for more than quarter-hour, but it could also be "soundless" and have no symptoms at altogether.
A lot of people who suffer a heart attack experience warning symptoms hours, days or weeks beforehand. The earliest predictor of a heart attack could be repeated chest pain that's sparked off by exertion and alleviated by rest (angina).
Somebody having an attack could go through any or all of the following:
- Uncomfortable squeeze, fullness or crushing pain in the center of the chest. The pain could last several moments or come and go. It could be sparked off by exertion and alleviated by rest.
- Prolonged infliction in the upper abdomen.
- Soreness or pain dispersing beyond the thorax to the shoulders, cervix, jaw, teeth, or one or both upper limbs.
- Breathlessness.
- Dizziness, lightheadedness, swooning.
- Perspiring.
- Sickness.
If you or somebody else might be having a heart attack:
1. Call 911 or your local emergency medical help number. Do not tough out the symptoms of an attack for several minutes. If you do not have approach to emergency medical services, have a neighbour or a friend drive you to the closest medical centre. Police or fire-rescue units also could be a source of transportation. Drive yourself only if no other option is available, and understand that it will put you and other people at danger when you drive under these conditions.
2. Chewing and swallow an aspirin, unless you are hyposensitized to aspirin or have been ordered by your physician never to take aspirin. But look for emergency assistance first, for instance ringing 911.
3. Take in glycerol trinitrate, if ordered. If you think you are having a heart attack and your physician has previously ordered glycerol trinitrate for you, take it as directed. Don't consume anybody else's glycerol trinitrate, as that may put you in further risk.
4. Start cardiopulmonary resuscitation. If you are with a victim who may be experiencing a heart attack and he or she is unconscious, call the 911 dispatcher or another emergency medical specialist. You might be suggested to start CPR (cardiac resuscitation). If you have not obtained cardiopulmonary resuscitation coaching, physicians urge skipping mouth-to-mouth rescue breathing and moving at once chest compression. The dispatcher can teach you in the right routines till assistance get in.