Heart Attack | Stroke | Stay In Touch

Immediate Treatment Helps Save Lives
If you notice one or more of the warning signs for heart attack or stroke, get emergency medical help immediately — call 9-1-1. New treatments can help reduce damage to the heart and brain, but only in the first few hours after symptoms begin.

Heart Attack
Heart Disease is our nation’s number one cause of death. The old, the young, men and women, white, black, Asian and Hispanic are all at risk. About half of the deaths from heart disease are from heart attacks, with at least 250,000 people dying before they get to the hospital. But many of those deaths can be prevented — by acting fast!

Half of all people having a heart attack wait more than two hours before getting help. Some people feel it would be embarrassing to have a "false alarm." Others are so afraid of having a heart attack that they tell themselves they aren’t having one. These feelings are easy to understand, but they’re also very dangerous and could cost you your life.

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Get emergency medical help IMMEDIATELY if you feel any of these warning signs of a heart attack:

• Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
• Pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck or arms.
  
• Chest discomfort with light-headedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.

Women may feel less common warning signs of a heart attack:

• Unusual chest pain, stomach, or abdominal pain.
  
• Nausea or dizziness.
  
• Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.
  
• Unexplained anxiety, weakness or fatigue.
  
• Palpitations (increased heart rate), cold sweat or paleness.

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Stroke
Stroke is the third largest cause of death in America today. It’s also the leading cause of severe, long-term disability. Hispanics, African Americans and people with diabetes, uncontrolled high blood pressure (hypertension), or heart disease are the most at risk for stroke.

A stroke happens when a blood vessel that feeds the brain gets clogged or bursts. Then that part of the brain can’t work and neither can the part of the body it controls.
Get emergency medical help IMMEDIATELY if you feel any of these warning signs of a stroke:

• Sudden numbness or weakness of face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
  
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
  
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
  
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination

Sudden severe headaches with no known cause. Sometimes these signs last only a few minutes. Knowing the signs of stroke is important. If you act fast and see a doctor right away, you could prevent a major stroke or save your life!

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