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H
Signs and symptoms
Kadlec provides open-
heart surgery and 24/7
neurology coverage.
CALL 911 IF YOU SUSPECT HEART ATTACK OR STROKE—
CARE BEGINS WITH THE PHONE CALL
HEART ATTACK AND STROKE ARE
life-and-death emergencies—every
second counts. Yet many people
wait too long to call 911 for emer-
gency help or drive themselves to
the hospital, assuming it will be
faster than waiting for an ambulance.
“It is vitally important that 911 be
called immediately after you ex-
perience any of the signs of heart
attack or stroke,” says Kadlec’s Cass
Biladeau, RN, BSN. “As soon as
you make that call, care starts. The
emergency personnel who arrive
will provide rapid treatment, give
appropriate medications, obtain an
EKG and transmit it directly to the
hospital. This expedites the process.”
If it is determined that medi-
cal intervention is necessary, the
cardiac catheterization team can be
If you notice one or more of
these signs, don’t wait. Call 911
immediately!
Warning signs
of a heart attack:
■
Chest pain or discomfort that can
feel like uncomfortable pressure,
squeezing, fullness or pain—it can be
mild or severe and come and go
■
Discomfort in other areas of the
upper body, one or both arms or upper
part of the stomach
■
Shortness of breath, which may oc-
cur with or before chest discomfort
■
Nausea/vomiting, light-headedness
or sudden dizziness
■
Cold sweat
■
Back or jaw pain
Warning signs of stroke:
■
Sudden numbness or weakness of
the face, arm or leg, especially on one
side of the body
■
Sudden confusion, or trouble speak-
ing or understanding
■
Sudden trouble seeing in one or
both eyes
■
Sudden trouble walking, dizziness,
loss of balance or coordination
■
Sudden, severe headache with no
known cause
prepared before the patient arrives
at the hospital, reducing the time
spent before lifesaving treatment
begins.
In the event of a heart attack,
paramedics are trained to revive
patients whose hearts stop. In the
event of a stroke, not all hospitals
can provide the potentially lifesaving
clot-busting drug called TPA (tissue
plasminogen activator). The para-
medics will take you to a hospital
that does—again saving time.
So, don’t delay. In an emergency,
call 911 immediately.
MAKE
THE
call
HEALTH NEWS AND INFORMATION
healthy
heart
Summer 2011
www.kadlec.org
A service of Kadlec Regional Medical Center–Tri-Cities