Symptoms of heart attack may vary from person to person. With the increasing number of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases, it is important that you should know these symptoms to save yourself or your loved ones. Mostly it starts as a discomfort (pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain) in the center of the chest that lasts for a few minutes. Sometimes the pain keeps coming back. Few others feel pain in their arms, back, neck, jaw, or stomach. There are other symptoms too. My friend’s father who had a heart attack recently broke out in a cold sweat all of a sudden and felt nauseous and light-headed. Shortness of breath is also an important symptom of stroke.
When someone you know gets a heart attack, always remember not to panic. There are certain basic things that you should bear in mind at those crucial minutes. Don’t leave the person alone and don’t let him deny the symptoms and convince you not to call for medical help. Don’t wait (though you wish) to see if the symptoms go away. Never give any medicine to the person unless it’s a prescribed heart medication, like nitroglycerin.
Heart attack treatment starts with some effective heart attack first aid. Ask the person feeling discomfort to sit down, rest, loosen his clothes, and try to keep him calm. If the person usually takes heart medication, then help him take it. Mostly, nitroglycerin is placed under the tongue to bring an immediate, temporary relief from the pain. If the pain does not subside, call for emergency medical care. Any trained person can perform a cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to the unconscious person if he does not respond to other first aid treatment.
Tags: Cardiovascular Disease, CPR, Heart Attack First Aid, Heart Attack Treatment, Symptoms of Heart Attack, Symptoms of Stroke
