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Protecting Your Heart
When Someone is Having a Heart AttackAs one local family discovered, responding quickly can save the life of a loved oneAfter hitting a shot on the third hole of the Olde Homestead Golf Course in New Tripoli last June, Chauncey Mullikin, 61, of Nazareth, collapsed into the golf cart. Sweating, pale and clutching his chest, he told his stepson and golf partner, Victor Zeeman, that he felt dizzy and had chest pain. “This isn’t good,” Mullikin said. “This isn’t good.”Zeeman, 38, of Roseto, didn’t hesitate. He jumped in the cart and drove Mullikin back to the clubhouse, first making sure a call would go in to 911. “I wasn’t certain it was a heart attack, but I was on a junior rescue squad when I was a teen-ager, and I learned the symptoms,” Zeeman says. “I also learned it’s never worth taking a chance.” When Mullikin arrived at the clubhouse, staff members helped him out of the cart and into the shade of a maple tree. They put cool towels around his neck and shoulders for relief from the heat. An ambulance arrived minutes later and took him to Lehigh Valley Hospital, where a cardiologist found three vessels almost completely blocked. In less than 40 minutes from arrival, the cardiologist opened one artery with balloon angioplasty. Then he opened the second and, in August, Mullikin returned to have the third vessel unblocked. Speed—And Your Hospital—MatterAn angioplasty (artery-opening treatment) within 90 minutes of the onset of symptoms is the best way to treat a heart attack. Specialty heart hospitals are well aware of this 90-minute standard; Lehigh Valley Hospital actually exceeds the standard through a pioneering system called MI (myocardial infarction) Alert (in place at both Cedar Crest and Muhlenberg). The system prepares staff and departments to respond immediately when a heart attack victim comes to the emergency room.“A heart attack often begins with tightness in the chest, shortness of breath, dizziness and pain that won’t go away,” Persin says. “The symptoms may be more difficult to identify in women, who are more likely to report pain in both arms, back pain or heartburn-like discomfort.” If you suspect someone is having a heart attack, call 911 immediately. “The faster the person is treated, the greater the chance for survival and the less damage to the heart,” Persin says. While waiting for emergency services, you can help by taking these steps:
 This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
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