Emergency Cardiology Services
at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center
Heart Attack: What To Do in an Emergency
In an emergency, seconds count. If you see or have any of the heart attack symptoms listed below, or see anyone having them, call 911 immediately.
Emergency services personnel can transport the patient to the hospital quickly. They can call ahead to the Emergency Department so an expert team is waiting and even administer treatment to you on the way, if needed. Statistics show that patients brought to the hospital by ambulance have a better chance of surviving a heart attack or stroke.
The cardiologists at Lahey Cardiology at the Medical Center use advanced technology to diagnose heart problems and to treat conditions using cardiac catheterizations, angioplasty, and electrophysiology. For invasive procedures such as open heart surgery, patients are easily transferred to our partner Lahey Clinic in Burlington, MA., one of the nation’s top cardiovascular centers.
Heart Attack Symptoms and Warning Signs
A heart attack or myocardial infarction occurs when the blood supply to the heart is slowed down or cut off, limiting the flow of oxygen.
Heart attacks do not always begin with a crushing chest pain. They often begin slowly with mild pain or discomfort. For people with diabetes, there are often no symptoms at all. Depending on your age, gender, and medical health, symptoms may be more or less extreme.
WARNING SIGNS OF A HEART ATTACK
- Chest discomfort that feels like pressure, fullness, or a squeezing pain in the center of your chest. It lasts for more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
- Pain and discomfort that extends beyond your chest to other parts of your upper body, such as one or both arms, back, neck, stomach, teeth, and jaw.
- Unexplained shortness of breath, with or without chest discomfort.
- Other symptoms, such as cold sweats, nausea or vomiting, lightheadedness, anxiety, indigestion, and unexplained fatigue. Women are more likely than men to experience other symptoms, too. These include shortness of breath and neck, shoulder, upper back, or abdominal pain.
