Speaker 1: No! No! No!No!! I can't believe it! Not again! That stupid ref! What is wrong
with him?! I'm gonna lose so much money on this game. This is just unbelievable. Can't
believe it! Speaker 2: Hey Joe. What's going on man? Speaker 1: I'm watching this game
and this ref. He doesn't know what he's doing. This is horrible! Speaker 2: The game is one
thing but you don't look like you're doing so well. What's going on? Speaker 1: I don't
know. I think I'm just stressed out. I've got a pain right up on my chest. Its almost
like someone is sitting on my chest. Speaker 2: Well. I'll tell you what. That's pretty
classic signs and symptoms, along with you sweating so bad, of a possible heart attack.
Did you ever have a history of heart attack or heart problems? Speaker 1: No. I've never
had any problems like that before. Speaker 2:Well, I'll tell you what, to be on the safe
side why don't we call an ambulance and have them check you out? Speaker 1: No, no.. Speaker
2: Just to make sure its not a heart attack. Speaker 1: No, I don't need an ambulance.
If I gotta go to a hospital, I'm gonna drive if I have too.. Speaker 2: Well listen, listen..
Here is the deal. If it is possibly a heart attack, it is going to be so important for
you to be seen and get whatever it is that's causing it removed so you don't have more
serious problems and you would never want to drive yourself to a hospital because if
you go unconscious while driving that vehicle, you not only put a risk of hurting yourself
or killing yourself, but could you imagine running into an other car that is filled with
children and family members and wiping them out? I mean, that's just too much. Speaker
1: No, no.. I understand. Speaker 2: So I'll tell you what, why don't we just call 911,
let's get them on the way, if it's nothing, they will be able to let us know that. But
if it is something serious, then we're gonna be able to get you in for treatment. Speaker
1: Alright, alright.. Speaker 2: Lets give them a call alright? Yea, 911? Listen. You
know what, there's a lot of research that shows that heart attack patients, if they
can take aspirin, have your doctor ever said anything about not taking aspirin or you cannot
take aspirin? Speaker 1: No, never had a problem with it before. Speaker 2: Any allergy to
medications that you know off? Speaker 1: No. Speaker 2: Any bleeding problems that
would stop you from being able to take aspirin? Speaker 1: No, nothing like that. Speaker
2: Okay, here's a cup of baby aspirin. You can take between 2 and 4 of those. Just pop
them in, chew it up and swallow it. And that's gonna help reduce the risk of further blood
clot formation. It's not guaranteed but it has been shown to be very helpful. So, just
swallow it down and just get into a nice position of comfort. If anythings tight or constricting,
feel free to loosen that up and just kind of try to relax, okay buddy? So, lets take
a closer look at heart attacks. First of all, what are they and why do they happen. Secondly,
is there anything we can control or are we out of control when it comes to heart attacks?
Thirdly, let's review the signs and symptoms so they we know that they may be having heart
attack and it is important to call 911 and activate medical services. First of all, what's
a heart attack. Well, a heart attack is anything that occludes the vessel that feeds the heart.
And when that heart muscle begin to starve of oxygen it causes pain and that pain is
usually what they feel when they say- "I felt like an elephant is sitting on my chest"
or its a squeezing feeling or sometimes it may radiate to one or both arms, they can
also potentially radiate up into the neck and in some cases they have even said to feel
like jaw pain or tooth ache. In women it is very characteristic for it to actually go
to the back and it makes them feel like they might have pulled a muscle or muscle strains.
In many cases, they might have pulled it off. But it not that classic drenched in sweat,
diaphoresis. Diaphoresis be the technical term for heavy sweating. They might just feel
like they are achy or they got indigestion and they can sometimes put it off for too
long and suffer other consequences as a results. But in the case where there is classic signs
and symptoms, the heavy sweating, the crushing chest pain radiating to one or both arms,
neck or jaw, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, weakness, nausea. These are all
classic signs and symptoms of a heart attack. Now, that isn't to say that other things can
sometimes mimic that. They could be that they have angina that comes and goes so it feels
like there's a little bit but it goes away. It still is like thunder on horizon. They
should take note on that and maybe rule out the chance it isn't an actual heart attack.
But it could also be things like pneumonia or pleuritis or even a broken rib. But in
the end it is better to rule out the heart attack and make sure that its not life threatening.
But if in doubt call 911 and make sure its not a heart attack. So, what are some of the
risk factors? What do we eat? How much do we exercise? Are we smoking cigarettes or
other things that are bad for us. If we have diabetes and if we can control it, are we
controlling it or is it out of control? Those would be classified as controllable risk factors.
Uncontrollable is more of things like genetic predisposition like "I have this incredibly
high cholesterol level and I'm a vegetarian". Well, that can happen. Things like diabetes
that just won't stay in control no matter how much we treat it. Things like race, things
like being male. So these are all the things that bioresearch found to predispose certain
people to cardiovascular disease. And there's not much they can do to change that. Not to
say there isn't other things you can do to help with the heart disease. Now, let's talk
about the signs and symptoms. When you have symptoms like profuse sweating, chest pain,
arm pain, neck pain, jaw pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, nausea, weakness. These
are all classic signs and symptoms that the person might be having heart attack. And if
they display those signs and symptoms, our job is pretty clear. Call 911 immediately.
Get the ambulance on the way. If it's not a heart attack, its okay. We can always disregard
the ambulance or they can rule that out then. But if it is a heart attack, time is of the
essence. We don't wanna slow any of those treatments down. Their life could depend on
it. Remember that most people would wanna deny that it is a heart attack. They would
also probably wanna drive themselves to the hospital. Both are extremely dangerous. Not
only for themselves, but for anybody who could be a victim of a patient who is unconscious
behind the wheel careening into that vehicle and hurting other people. So remember, if
you are waiting for the ambulance and if we could take aspirin, it's one of the treatments
that even the paramedics could do. Because aspirin when they are absorbed into the blood
stream works like a platelet lubricant. It actually helps blood platelets slide by each
other so they don't stick and make a bigger clot. So, it's actually one thing you can do
if the patient allows you to give it them where they can take aspirin and help themselves
prevent a worse heart attack or actually relieve some of the symptoms. Say, if they have a
Nitroglycerine tabs or a spray or they can't get up to get it. You can assist them by going
to get it and giving it to them. Remember to keep the patient as calm as possible. You
can't lie to them and tell them everything's gonna be okay because we don't know if that
is true. But we could reassure them that they are in good hands and that you are not going
to leave them alone. If they have tight garments we can loosen those up and allow the patient
to be in the best position of comfort they can find while we wait for EMS to arrive.