How to Respond to a Heart Attack or Stroke

Know the warning signs and dial 9-1-1

Would you know what to do if you encountered someone who appeared to be having a heart attack or stroke? Your response could make a life-or-death difference. “With heart attack and stroke, time lost is heart muscle or brain cells lost,” says Robert Motley, M.D., a family medicine physician at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “That’s why it’s important to get help as fast as possible.”

Step 1: Recognize the warning signs

Heart attack—The symptoms, which may be different in men and women, include:

• Discomfort, pressure, squeezing or pain in the chest, sometimes brought on by exertion or emotional stress
• Lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath
• Discomfort or pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck and arms
• Unexplained indigestion, heartburn or gas-like pain

Stroke—If someone is having a stroke, any of the following symptoms may occur suddenly:

• Numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
• Confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
• Trouble seeing in one or both eyes
• Trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or loss of coordination
• Severe headache with no known cause

Step 2: Call for help

Call 9-1-1 immediately if you’re with someone who has any of these symptoms, even if they’re subtle. “Keep the dispatcher on the phone and follow his or her instructions,” says Allentown paramedic Rob Rupert. “If there’s another person with you, have them go outside to flag down the ambulance. It might only save a few seconds, but seconds are crucial.”

Step 3: Care for the victim

The dispatcher will tell you to keep the person calm. Sit or lie him down and assure him help is on the way. People having heart attack or stroke symptoms are often in denial and reluctant or embarrassed to go to the hospital. Be firm. “It’s better to send someone to the hospital three times with a false alarm than to be regretful for not calling 9-1-1 once,” Motley says.

Here are some other things you should know:

Heart attack—If the person has prescribed nitroglycerin tablets, give him one (follow the instructions on the label). Chewing an aspirin is beneficial, but not in people with an aspirin allergy. If you don’t know whether the victim is aspirin allergic, wait for the paramedics. “Administering an aspirin is the first thing we’ll do anyway,” Rupert says.

Stroke—Remember what time the symptoms began. “Clotbusting drugs (called thrombolytics) are sometimes given to patients with acute stroke, but they must be given within a few hours of the first symptoms,” Motley says.

Paramedics diagnose a stroke by asking a patient to do three things: smile, lift both arms and speak a simple sentence. But leave this test to the professionals. “If you recognize the warning signs, asking questions and trying to validate what you see will only waste time,” Motley says.

Step 4: Be prepared

If you live with someone who’s at risk for a heart attack or stroke, being prepared can save precious time. Keep a written list of the person’s medications, allergies and doctors to give to the paramedics. “Knowing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how to use a portable defibrillator can save a life if someone stops breathing or has a cardiac arrest,” Motley says.

Want to Know More about what happens after you call 9-1-1? Call 610-402-CARE.

Published from Healthy You Magazine, September-October 2007

Fast Action Saved Her Life

Nancy Kohler was trying to get through the workday, but knew something was wrong. “It felt like my feet were sticking to the ground when I walked,” the 42-yearold Hamburg woman says.

Her co-worker, 50-year-old Lew Everdale of Pine Grove, found Kohler collapsed on the floor. “She was having trouble speaking and her left eye was sagging,” Everdale says. “She said she would be fine, but I called 9-1-1 anyway.” He sent another co-worker outside to flag down the ambulance and comforted Kohler until paramedics Debbie Naugle and Butch Howell (with her in photo) arrived.

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Within minutes of Kohler’s arrival at Lehigh Valley Hospital, caregivers diagnosed a stroke with one of the largest blood clots they had ever seen. Fortunately, Kohler had arrived within the three-hour window of opportunity to receive the clot-busting drug tPA.

Four hours later, Kohler was moving her limbs. Five days after that, she went home nearly 100 percent cured. “Everyone calls me the ‘miracle patient,’ ” Kohler says.

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