Heart attacks often occur when you are alone, and knowing what to do when symptoms of a heart attack arise can save your life. Read on for more details.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Recognizing the Warning Signs
Step 1. Recognize the most common symptoms
The most obvious is severe pain or discomfort in the chest, but there are others you should watch out for.
-
Pain is usually felt in the center of the chest. It is described as heaviness, twitching, pressure, pain, burning, numbness, fullness or constriction. The pain can last several minutes or be intermittent. Some people confuse it with indigestion or heartburn.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 1Bullet1 - You may also feel pain or discomfort in other areas of the upper body such as the arms, left shoulder, back, neck, jaw, or stomach.
-
Other symptoms of heart attack are:
- Difficulty in breathing.
- Even "cold" sweats.
- Sense of fullness, indigestion or choking.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Dizziness, lightheadedness, extreme weakness or severe anxiety.
- Rapid and irregular heartbeat.
Step 2. Note that symptoms in women may differ
Although women often have chest pain and other common symptoms, they may report less common symptoms.
-
These rarer symptoms are:
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 2Bullet1 - Pain in the upper back and shoulders.
- Pain in the jaw or that spreads up to it.
- The pain spreads to the arm.
- Unusual tiredness for several days.
- Difficulty sleeping.
- Up to 78% of women who have had a heart attack had at least one of these less common symptoms, even up to a month before the actual heart attack.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 3 Step 3. Never underestimate the symptoms
People expect a heart attack to be instant and dramatic, but the truth is that many are mild and can last for more than an hour. However, even mild heart attacks are serious; so if you experience the symptoms described above for more than 5 minutes you must act immediately for your safety.
- You should receive medical treatment within one hour of the onset of symptoms. If you wait any longer, the heart will have a harder time repairing the damage. The maximum limit is to be able to clear the occluded artery within 90 minutes to minimize damage.
- People often wait and do not seek treatment because they have different symptoms than they expect, or because they believe they are related to different diseases. Others postpone treatment because they are young and believe they can't get a heart attack, or because they don't take the severity of their symptoms seriously, and are ashamed to go to the hospital for a "false alarm."
Part 2 of 3: Take action
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 4 Step 1. Call 911 immediately
The most important thing you need to do is call the emergency medical services.
- Always call the ambulance before trying to contact anyone else. It is the fastest way to have a prompt intervention and, even if you live in a difficult to reach area, the 118 operators can give you instructions to try to minimize the damage while waiting for help.
- Paramedics start treatment as soon as they arrive, which is another great reason to call them before anyone else.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 5 Step 2. Consider calling someone else who can reach you immediately
If you have a trusted neighbor or relative who lives near you, make another phone call asking them to join you. Help could be vital if you go into cardiac arrest.
- You should only do this if the 118 operators give you permission to end the phone call with them or if you have a second phone line to use while you remain connected to the emergency service.
- Do not rely on another person to take you to the hospital, unless authorized by 118. Wait for the paramedics to arrive.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 6 Step 3. Chew an aspirin
Chewing and swallowing a 325 mg aspirin without a gastro-resistant lining can be helpful, especially if you can do it in the first 30 minutes.
- Aspirin inhibits the action of platelets and therefore the formation of clots. This delays the occlusion of the arteries due to the clotted blood during the heart attack.
- Do not use aspirin with a gastro-resistant coating because its action is too slow.
-
Chew the aspirin before swallowing it. By doing this you release more of the active ingredient into the stomach and accelerate its effectiveness.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 6Bullet3 -
If you are taking a drug that interferes with aspirin or your doctor has told you that you cannot take it, Not follow this step.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 6Bullet4
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 7 Step 4. Don't try to drive
It is definitely not recommended to go to the hospital alone by driving. If you start to have more severe symptoms while driving, you could go off the road and cause an accident.
- The only reason you should go to the hospital alone is if you have no alternative and it is the only way to get health treatment.
-
If you have complete cardiac arrest, you can pass out. That is why it is not recommended to drive at the first symptoms of a heart attack.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 7Bullet2
Step 5. Stay calm
As scary as a heart attack can be, running around and panicking will only make things worse. Try to relax and bring your heart rate back to a steady, calm pace.
- To calm down, try to think of something calm and make sure you are familiar with the things you need to do in this case before.
-
Counting is a way to slow your heart rate. Count slowly, use the classic method: a thousand and one, a thousand and two, a thousand and three …
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 8Bullet2
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 9 Step 6. Lie down
Get on your back and lift your legs. In this way you open the diaphragm and facilitate breathing by oxygenating the blood.
Get into a comfortable, easy-to-maintain position by placing pillows or objects under your legs. You can also lie on the floor and keep your lower limbs on the sofa or chair
Step 7. Breathe deeply and steadily
Even if the first instinct is to breathe quickly, the best thing to ensure continuous oxygenation and to lower the heart rate is to breathe slowly.
-
Try to lie down in front of an open window or door, in front of a fan or air conditioner. A continuous stream of fresh air further helps you with your breathing.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 10Bullet1
Step 8. Do not try to practice "CPR with Cough"
For some time, this "resuscitation technique" has been circulating on the internet according to which alternating breaths and coughs guaranteed survival from a heart attack. There is a great chance that this technique will not work and that it can even aggravate the situation.
- Sometimes this technique is used in the hospital for those patients who are about to have complete cardiac arrest. However, it should be performed under strict medical supervision.
-
Trying to do this on your own can cause accidental cardiac arrhythmia and make it more difficult for the blood to oxygenate.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 11Bullet2
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 12 Step 9. Don't eat or drink
It's probably the last thing that comes to your mind during a heart attack, but if it doesn't, avoid doing it. Ingesting anything other than the previously mentioned aspirin will make it more difficult for paramedics to provide the proper treatment.
If necessary, you can take a small sip of water to help your system absorb the aspirin, although it is best to try to avoid this as much as possible
Part 3 of 3: Subsequent Actions
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 13 Step 1. Talk to your doctor about things to do in the future
A heart attack increases the chances of it coming back. When you survive a heart attack, you should discuss an action plan with your doctor to increase your life expectancy if it happens again.
- Your doctor may prescribe medications to treat the underlying heart condition. For example, he might give you nitroglycerin to widen your blood vessels and lower the pressure on your arteries. Or he might recommend beta blockers that inhibit the hormones that trigger heart stress responses.
-
Your doctor may also decide to prescribe an oxygen cylinder to inhale it in case of another heart attack.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 13Bullet2 - In addition to taking drug therapy, you should also discuss your eating habits, lifestyle, and physical activity with your doctor.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 14 Step 2. Purchase a "lifesaving" system
This is a device that you can always carry with you and that you can activate when you feel that you are about to have a heart attack but cannot reach a phone. This device equipped with a GPS tracking system automatically calls for help.
- Even if you have a "life saving device" you should call 911 if you can. The device is not that accurate and calling 118 directly guarantees you a more timely intervention.
- You should do some research before buying a "life saver" to find the one that suits you, the most reliable and safest one.
Step 3. Keep an "emergency bag."
If you are at risk of a heart attack you should have a bag with all your medications and all your emergency contacts to keep with you when you are taken to the hospital.
-
Keep this bag near the entrance, in an accessible area.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 15Bullet1 -
Put all the medications you usually take in it, so that both the paramedics and doctors know what kind of therapy you are on. Also put up the list of doctors and family members to contact in case of emergency.
Survive a Heart Attack when Alone Step 15Bullet2
