Heart Attack: Signs and Omens

Hesitating until an ambulance is called when a heart attack is suspected can have devastating consequences. The earlier intervention is made, the greater the patient’s chances of survival. Every minute counts. Everything depends on getting the patient to the hospital as soon as possible, where effective procedures can save his or her life and limit the damage of the heart attack. Anyone can learn to recognize heart attack and respond quickly.

Cause of death No. 2: heart attack

Every day, approximately 767 people in Germany suffer a heart attack. That’s 280,000 people a year. Around 49,000 of the men and women affected die as a result, most before they are admitted to hospital.

The reason for this is that many patients still wait far too long before calling an ambulance, either because they wanted to wait and see, or because they suppressed the heart attack, or because they did not want to disturb anyone out of false consideration, and above all because they did not interpret the alarm signs correctly. The following should always apply: Better to call the ambulance once too much than not at all or too late.

Heart attack: alarm signs

The most common alarm signs of a heart attack are severe chest pain lasting longer than five minutes, which could radiate to the arms, shoulder blades, neck, jaw, upper abdomen. In this case, immediately call the ambulance at 112 or the local emergency number. Other alarm signs:

  • Strong feeling of tightness
  • Violent pressure in the chest
  • Anxiety

In addition to chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting may occur, in many cases in women they are even the sole alarm signs. In addition, as possible signs may also be unconsciousness, pale, sallow complexion and cold sweat.

Not a bolt from the blue

A heart attack means that a coronary vessel becomes blocked by a clot (blood clot). This cuts off part of the heart muscle from oxygen supply: hence the pain and nausea.
There are two major dangers associated with heart attack:

  • One danger is a life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia, ventricular fibrillation, triggered by the heart attack. The heart stops pumping and cardiovascular arrest occurs. Defibrillators are available in the ambulance and in the hospital, which can electrically eliminate this cardiac arrhythmia.
  • The other danger that a heart attack brings is the pumping failure of the heart. The longer the heart attack lasts, the more heart muscle tissue is irretrievably lost.

Myocardial infarction: signs during stress

Unexpected and sudden – that’s how people experience their heart attack. But many have already had complaints before. Omens that clearly warned of the infarction, but were not taken seriously. One warning signal that precedes the dramatic event by days, weeks, sometimes even months is angina pectoris (chest tightness). This involves pain or a feeling of pressure in the chest or just shortness of breath.

The difference between this and a heart attack is that these signs only occur during exertion (for example, climbing stairs, hiking in the mountains, sweeping snow) and disappear after a few minutes at rest. In the case of chest pain, including unexplained stomach or back pain that occurs only during exertion, the heart must be thoroughly examined.