Health Facts: Signs you are in danger of a heart attack or stroke

Apr 30, 2023 Features / Columnists, Health Facts, News

By: Rehanna Ramsay

Kaieteur News – Strokes and heart attacks are always an emergency. But do you know the signs of stroke and heart attack? Knowledge is power. You can save a life by learning the signs and symptoms, recognizing them when they happen, and getting emergency medical care.

Rehanna Ramsay

For stroke, a sudden numbness, severe headache, dizziness, weakness to one side of your body, facial droop, or slurred speech or weakness in the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body is very indicative of a person at risk.

The sudden confusion or trouble understanding speech, sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes, sudden trouble walking, dizziness, or loss of balance or coordination and sudden severe headache with no known cause can all be signs of a stroke.

In terms of heart attack, pain or discomfort in the chest is usually a sign that you are in danger of cardiac arrest. According to various medical sources, lightheadedness, nausea or vomiting, jaw, neck or back pain, discomfort pain in arm or shoulder and shortness of breath also fall into that category.

When you think someone might be having a stroke or heart attack, don’t wait.

Call 912 the local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) hotline right away. Emergency Medical Services personnel are trained to identify stroke and heart attack and get the patient to a hospital fast. These medical emergencies are treatable and the faster the patient gets treated, the more likely they are to return home to family and routines.

Failure to identify and treat a person who has these symptoms within a matter of hours, can result in the damaged part of their heart or brain becoming unsalvageable.

Visit the ER

Whether it is an elderly person or not, keep these quick tips in mind should an emergency happen and you find yourself on the way to the hospital, with a person who has exhibited some of the symptoms mentioned earlier.

When minutes count, it’s helpful to have your medical history and information in writing and ready.

Have a list of your doctor’s contact information, your medical issues, allergies and medications and the doses you are taking. Keep the list written down on a piece of paper in your purse or wallet, on a cell phone or download one of the many smartphone apps available. Make sure to keep the updated list when medications change.

Some health systems keep electronic medical records on patients, but if an ambulance takes a patient to a different hospital than where they normally go, that hospital might not have those important health records immediately available.

If the patient has a primary physician or doctor , it is good to call ahead and inform him or her of their condition.

In these cases, many patients come to the emergency department without being seen in person or via telemedicine by their primary physician. Before arriving, it would be a good idea to call the primary healthcare physician and let him or her know, so they can assist the emergency department to let the staff know the medical history and be well informed on to treat the patients that are coming.

This does not guarantee you will be seen sooner, as all emergency department patients are triaged, or sorted, with the most serious conditions seen first.

However, having your doctor call ahead can ensure that the most accurate information about your condition is communicated with the emergency department staff. Many patients have complicated medical histories, and this quick phone call can result in a clearer picture of your health condition and a better overall experience.

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attack, emergency, Health Facts, heart, stroke

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