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A
s serious as a heart attack.
It’s what we say when we really
mean business. Unfortunately, too many
people fail to take an actual heart attack as
seriously as they should.
That can be deadly. About half of the
people who die from a heart attack do so
within an hour of their first symptoms—and
before they reach the hospital.*
That’s one big reason it’s critical to call
911 at the first sign of a heart attack, says
Joe Keenan, DO, director of emergency
services for Centegra Health System.
“If it’s a new or unusual pain, or if you
have sweating or nausea or shortness of
breath with chest pain, don’t wait,” he says.
“Call for help.”
THE LIFESAVING DIFFERENCE
Many people try to get to the hospital on
their own. But an ambulance is faster and
safer, Dr. Keenan says.
If your heart develops a dangerous
rhythm or stops beating on the way,
paramedics and emergency medical
technicians can act at once.
They will alert Centegra when they
suspect you’re having a heart attack. That
way, doctors and staff are ready to act the
moment you come through the door.
STAYING A STEP AHEAD
Getting to the hospital swiftly and safely
is just the first step. Then the main goal is
to limit damage by quickly restoring blood
Too patient? Why people wait to call 911
Denial. Experts say it’s one of the biggest reasons people with chest pain or other
heart attack symptoms fail to call 911.
“No one believes this could happen to them,” says cardiologist Douglas
Tomasian, MD. “People will say, ‘I’ve never had a symptom related to my heart, and
I’ve been active and well.’”
“People hate to cry wolf,” says Joe Keenan, DO, emergency services director for
Centegra Health System. They may not want to cause a fuss or inconvenience others
if it’s only indigestion.
But don’t worry about that, both doctors say.
“We’re always happy to find something more benign,” Dr. Tomasian says. And if it
is a heart attack, getting treatment fast can be the difference between life and death.
waiting game
flow to the heart muscle, says cardiologist
Douglas Tomasian, MD.
After the emergency department, most
patients with heart attacks go to Centegra
Hospital–McHenry’s cardiac catheterization
lab. There, a specialist inserts a tiny balloon
into the affected blood vessel and inflates it
to clear the blockage.
Nationally, the average time from
arrival at a hospital to an opened artery
is 60 minutes. At Centegra, door-to-balloon
times routinely beat that mark. Sometimes
they’re as low as 24 minutes.
“We have outstanding treatments,”
Dr. Tomasian says. “But it’s critically
important to get attention immediately.”
*National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
DID YOU KNOW?
Centegra Hospital–Huntleywill
have a full cardiac catheterization
laboratory the day it opens its doors
in late summer 2016.
Do you know the symptoms of a heart attack?
Not sure? Watch a quick refresher here:
gethealthy.centegra.org
.
Staying a step ahead: Centegra physicians (from
left) Joe Keenan, DO, and Douglas Tomasian, MD,
provide expert heart attack care. Your job? Call 911.
Don’t
play the