Think you may be having a heart attack? Call 999
It's a dilemma with life and death consequences -- if you think you or somebody near you is having a heart attack, are you over-reacting by calling an ambulance?
Calling 999 is the best course of action but research carried out in Ireland shows that, while six in 10 people recognise heart attack symptoms, just half will get to hospital by ambulance.
A separate Health Research Board study looked at how to improve the chances of people who are having a heart attack getting medical treatment quickly.
Dr Gabrielle McKee from the School of Nursing and Midwifery in Trinity College Dublin, who led the research, pointed out: "Getting to the emergency department within that first hour after the onset of symptoms saves lives.
"It's recommended that patients who think they are experiencing a heart attack should act promptly and call an ambulance."
She said a study of nearly 2,000 patients found that people waited a long time before responding. It looked at how this could be overcome and examined the benefit of a one-to-one motivational educational session, providing advice for the patient.
It included information on the range of symptoms of a heart attack, and developed a personalised plan about what patients should do if they had the possible signs of an attack again.
Those who underwent this session and later had heart attack symptoms managed, on average, to reduce their time of getting to hospital from 4.6 hours down to 1.7 hours.
Survival rates can be improved by as much as 50pc if patients access treatment within one hour of the onset of symptoms.
Even if a person cannot make it to the hospital, the advice is to ring 999 so an advanced paramedic can be sent to the scene.
According to the Irish Heart Foundation, the most common symptom of a heart attack is chest pain. This is usually a crushing or tight pain, which may move to your jaw or your arms, particularly on the left side. You may also feel short of breath, sweaty or sick.
"Some people may feel light-headed or lose consciousness. You may become anxious or very afraid. However 10 to 15pc of people who have a heart attack may not feel anything. This is more common in older people, especially women and those with diabetes. Sometimes these people just feel weak, tired or short of breath," said a spokesperson.
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