Have Symptoms? Get Checked Out
People who ignore warnings put their heart, and life, at risk
 (HealthDay News) -- Taking a wait-and-see approach to chest pain and other possible heart attack symptoms could be life-threatening, experts warn.
More than 300,000 Americans die each year from heart attacks or cardiac arrest before they even get to a hospital, where highly trained medical personnel and advanced technology await.
"If you're having symptoms, and they persist for more than a few minutes, seek medical care," Dr. Joon Sup Lee, clinical director of the Cardiovascular Institute at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, told HealthDay. "If you wait, you may never make it to the hospital," Lee added.
"If you look at people who died suddenly," Lee said, "they often had symptoms but ignored them."
So, what symptoms should people be on the lookout for? Experts agree that any feeling of chest pain, pressure or tightness can be a sign of trouble -- and they're definitely a cause for concern if accompanied by any of the following:
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Shortness of breath
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Extreme fatigue
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Pain that radiates down the left arm
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Jaw or neck pain
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Upper abdominal pain or a feeling of indigestion
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Nausea or vomiting
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Sudden sweating
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Dizziness or lightheadedness, possibly fainting
Anyone who experiences these symptoms should call 911, recommends the American Heart Association.
"There's a fear that you'll feel stupid if you go to the hospital and you're OK," Lee said. "But, if you want to be 100 percent sure, you're risking your life."
Nieca Goldberg, director of the Women's Heart Program at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, agrees.
"Don't worry about what others will think -- just go," she told HealthDay. Too many people, especially women, wait to get medical help because they don't want to look silly or waste doctors' time, she said.
Goldberg also recommended that "if any of these symptoms are new to you, you should go get it checked out" right away.
Research published in the journal Circulation backs up what the experts said. The study, which assessed what happened before a heart attack or cardiac arrest in more than 400 people, found that many of them had symptoms beforehand. Some people even had symptoms for as long as two hours before their heart stopped.
The study also found that people who were given cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, had a survival rate of around 23 percent, compared with just 4 percent for those who didn't get CPR.
"The unfortunate fact is that we have become very good at treating heart disease once you have reached medical care. But the majority of people who die, die before they reach medical care," Lee said.
"What this study suggests is that most people do have a warning -- many of them had more than one hour, which is more than enough time for [emergency medical services] to get there," he added.
Though Lee said that "most people who die suddenly die of an irregular rhythm," he noted that a defibrillator can correct an irregular heartbeat. Emergency crews that respond to a 911 call would be able to start such treatment right away.
On the Web
To learn more about heart attack symptoms, visit the U.S. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
SOURCES:
HealthDay News ; Joon Sup Lee, M.D., clinical director, Cardiovascular Institute, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh; Nieca Goldberg, M.D., director, Women's Heart Program, NYU Langone Medical Center, New York City; Sept. 5, 2006, Circulation; American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org)
Author:
Serena Gordon
Publication Date:
Sept. 30, 2009
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