Speed is of the Essence
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
It could begin with pain, nagging or immobilizing, in the chest, arm or jaw. There might be cold sweats.
You could be having a heart attack.
It is not a time to delay; don’t wait to see if it goes away. It is not a good idea to get someone to drive you to the emergency room.
Call an ambulance immediately. The ambulance EMTs can start treatment that can save your life and speed recovery.
In treating a heart attack, speed is essential. Doctors speak of the “golden 30 minutes,” a narrow window in which door-to-drugs treatment has the best chance of a good outcome. In Emporia, there’s also the “golden 90 minutes,” which allows time for door-to-drugs at Newman Regional Health, plus the flight time to an out-of-town regional medical center, where a cardiologist can do a catheterization or other treatment predicated on diagnosis.
A heart attack occurs when the heart muscle, or a portion of it, is deprived of the blood and oxygen it needs to function, according to information from the National Institutes of Health. Without treatment, the heart muscle begins to die, which can lead to serious or fatal consequences.
Cardio-vascular disease (CVD) is the No. 1 killer in the United States.
With the exception of the influenza epidemic in 1918, CVD has accounted for more deaths than any other single cause or group of causes in the country. Almost 2,400 Americans die of CVD every day.
The American Heart Association makes this comparison: If all major forms of CVD were eliminated, life expectancy would rise by almost seven years. If all forms of cancer were eliminated, the gain would be three years. At birth, the chance of dying later from major CVD is 47 percent; the chance of dying from cancer is 22 percent.
Some preventive measures can be taken to improve odds — quitting smoking, reducing blood pressure and cholesterol, and exercising, for example. When a heart attack happens, though, the best option is to call “911” for an ambulance.
Newman staff members took time Monday afternoon to do a step-by-step demonstration of what happens to a patient upon arrival. Please turn to pages 10 and 11 for a photographic feature on the demonstration.