askthedoctor Heart Attack I If You Think It’s
a Heart Attack Call 911, chew and swal- low an aspirin, and put a nitroglycerin tablet (if prescribed by your doc- tor) under your tongue. Immediate medical care can save your life.
Heart attacks can strike without warning, and the symptoms aren’t always recognizable. Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, D.O., reviews what to look out for and how to respond.
I recently met a fellow MOAA mem- ber who told me he’d had a heart attack — but didn’t actually know he was having one. Fortunately, he got to the hospital quickly. He asked me to let others know about the importance of calling 911 and getting immediate medical care. A heart attack can happen suddenly
and unexpectedly and requires immedi- ate medical care. About 1.2 million people in the U.S. have heart attacks each year. About half of those who die from a heart attack die within the fi rst hour and before reaching a hospital. Women are more like- ly to die from a heart attack than men. A heart attack can happen at any time — during routine exercise or after a par- ticularly heavy physical activity such as shoveling snow, following a heavy meal, or during sleep. Both physical and emotional stress can contribute to a heart attack. A heart attack can include one or more symptoms that might be mild or severe. They might be constant or come and go. Many, but not all, people experience some symptoms in their chest: discomfort, pain, pressure, squeezing, tightness, heaviness, fullness, or some other sensation. It might occur in the center of the chest or on the left side or in the neck, shoulders, inner part of the arms, upper back, or even the upper abdomen. Some experience this dis- comfort in the lower jaw. For some people, a heart attack begins with nausea and vomiting. There might be unusual, profuse sweating over most of the
body, sudden anxiety or panic, or a sense of complete exhaustion. Some people feel their heart beating fast or irregularly or feel dizzy or light-headed or like they might faint. Shortness of breath is also common. Some people mistake a heart attack for indi- gestion. Others have “silent heart attacks,” without chest pain or other symptoms. The most important thing to remember
if you think you might be having a heart attack (or if someone else says they think you are having a heart attack) is to dial 911. Don’t drive yourself to the hospital or ask someone else to drive you. Call an ambulance. Immediate medical care in the ambulance can be life-saving. After dialing 911, while you wait for the ambulance, chew and swallow four baby aspirin or one regular adult uncoated aspi- rin. If your doctor has prescribed nitroglyc- erin, put one tablet under your tongue. Next, if you are home alone, unlock
your front door so the ambulance crew can get in if you aren’t able to get to the door. Sit in a chair (preferably one with arms, so that you won’t fall out if you lose consciousness). Wait for the ambulance with your phone next to you. With imme- diate medical care, most people survive a heart attack.
MO
— Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, USPHS-Ret., D.O., M.A., is vice president, Health Sciences, Battelle Memorial Institute, Arlington, Va. Find more health and wellness resources at www
.moaa.org/wellness. For submission information, see page 18.
*online: Visit
www.nhlbi.nih.gov/actintime to learn more about heart attack prevention, symptoms, and survival. 54 MILITARY OFFICER JANUARY 2012
PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92