You feel discomfort in the middle of your chest. It may feel like uncomfortable pressure, squeezing or fullness. Perhaps it feels like sharp pain. You wait for it to go away.
A few minutes later, the discomfort is still there. Maybe it lessened for a while, but now it’s back again. Quite possibly, the discomfort isn’t in your chest at all, but somewhere else in your body: your arm, back, neck or jaw. Maybe it’s in your stomach.You think it’s just indigestion. You feel sick to your stomach, dizzy or short of breath. Perhaps you breakout into a cold sweat. If you’re a woman, maybe you feel breathless, fatigued or dizzy. Perhaps you feelanxious. You may even confuse what you’re feeling with symptoms of menopause.
You don’t realize it, but you’ve just received a warning. The blood supply to your heart muscle has been blocked, and within minutes, your hearmuscle will begin to suffer harm that may result in permanent damage.
You’re having a heart attack.
Code AMI: The Most Advanced Heart Attack Treatment Available
Time Time is Heart Muscle
Some heart attacks are sudden and intense, but many begin slowly, with mild pain or discomfort. Some people don’t want to believe they’re experiencing a heart attack, otherwise known as an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). That’s why half of all people experiencing heart attacks wait more than two hours before seeking help. As a result, approximately 250,000 of the 1.1 million Americans who experience a heart attack each year die before they get to a hospital. If you suspect you or someone else is having a heart attack, don’t wait longer than five minutes before seeking help. For every moment you wait, you risk further damage to the heart muscle and increase the risk that you or the victim will not survive the heart attack, or that quality of life after the heart attack will be diminished. Blood flow to the heart muscle must be restored quickly, within 90 to 120 minutes of the beginning of the heart attack. That’s why it’s so important you call 9-1-1 or go to a hospital emergency department immediately.
To clear the clogged artery and restore blood flow to the heart muscle, physicians will administer clot-busting drugs or perform angioplasty, a nonsurgical procedure that uses tiny balloons to widen the blocked area. All U.S. hospitals can administer clot-dissolving drugs. However, not all hospitals can perform emergency coronary angioplasties, which require expertly trained cardiologists, nurses and technologists working in a specially equipped room and backed by a nexperienced cardiovascular surgery team.
Recent clinical studies indicate that opening the clogged artery of a patient in the early phase of a heart attack using angioplasty and stents minimizes damage to the heart muscle, reduces complications and produces better long-term outcomes. The sooner the artery is opened, the better the results. According to medical research published in the U.S. and Europe, clot-dissolving drug therapy alone is less effective.
The heart specialists of Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center are committed to treating heart attack patients according to the highest national quality standards. To that end, Providence Saint Joseph has established a specialized program, Chest Pain–Code AMI, to ensure that every patient who appears to be having a heart attack receives expedited diagnosis and treatment. Community hospitals in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita Valleys without the technology and expertise to provide angioplasty must either use clot dissolving medications or immediately transfer the heart attack patient to a hospital in which angioplasty can be promptly performed. Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center ranks among the top 10 percent nationally for performing angioplasty within 120 minutes of patients’ arrivals, according to a recent quality report by the Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Hospital Organizations (JCAHO). In addition, The California Office of State Health Planning and Development reports that Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center produces significantly better than expected heart attack treatment outcomes. In fact, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center received a 2005 President’s Award for Excellence from Providence Health System for significant improvements in heart attacks treatment times.
Heart Disease: The Silent Predator
More than twice as many Americans will die from heart disease or stroke than will die from all forms of cancer, including breast cancer. High blood pressure, high cholesterol,
diabetes, smoking, being overweight, being physically inactive or having a family history of heart disease all increase an individual’s risk for developing heart disease.
And if you’re over 40 or a person of color, your risk is even higher. To reduce your risk for heart attack or other heart problems, ask your personal physician to assess your risk for developing cardiovascular disease and to provide recommendations to help you improve your heart health.
For more information about heart disease and Chest Pain–Code AMI at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center or to receive a FREE physician referral, call 1-888-HEALING (1-888-432-5464).
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