Is it a heart attack or stroke?

Signs and Symptoms of a Heart Attack

What is Early Heart Attack Care (EHAC)?

EHAC, which stands for Early Heart Attack Care, is a campaign to help men and women learn about the signs of a heart attack. Sometimes, these signs can happen days or weeks before the heart attack occurs. If you notice these early signs, it’s important to get help right away to prevent serious damage to your heart.

Approximately 800,000 people in the United States have heart attacks each year. Most heart damage can occur within the first two hours of a heart attack, therefore, it is important to know the subtle signs of a heart attack and act. Many of those people experienced early symptoms.

Early warning symptoms include the following:

  • Chest pain/pressure/discomfort/burning/fullness
  • Nausea/vomiting
  • Jaw pain
  • Back pain
  • Fatigue
  • Shortness of breath
  • Anxiety
  • Weakness
  • Dizziness
  • Pain that travels down one or both arms

If you think you might be having a heart attack, call 911 immediately. Getting medical help quickly can save your heart!

Risk Factors for a Heart Attack

Things You Can’t Control:

  • Age
  • Family history of heart disease
  • Previous history of heart disease
  • Gender

Things You Can Control:

  • Blood Pressure
  • Blood sugar/diabetes
  • BMI (body weight)
  • Chronic inflammation
  • Diet (what you eat)
  • Exercise (how much you move)
  • HDL (good cholesterol)
  • Smoking
  • Stress
  • Total cholesterol (overall cholesterol level)

Hands-Only CPR

Two Steps, Save a Life

Hands-only CPR, or compression-only CPR, is simple and easy to learn and perform on teens or adults. It has been shown to work just as well as regular CPR in the first few minutes after someone has a heart attack at home, work, or in public.

There are just two steps to hands-only CPR:

  1. Call 911 if you see a teen or an adult collapse
  2. Push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of a familiar song that has 100 to 120 beats per minute 

Stroke Warning Signs and Symptoms

A stroke occurs when a blood vessel that carries oxygen and nutrients to the brain is either blocked by a clot, bursts or ruptures. When this occurs, the part of the brain supplied by that blood vessel cannot get the blood and oxygen it needs, causing brain cells to die. Strokes are also referred to as Brain Attacks.

Warning signs and symptoms of stroke noted by the American Stroke Association are:

  • Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body.
  • Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding.
  • Inability to smile.
  • Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
  • Sudden trouble walking, with dizziness, balance or coordination problems.
  • Inability to respond to simple commands.
  • Sudden, severe headache with no known cause.

If you notice the onset of these warning signs or symptoms, or if someone is with you, have them call 911 immediately. Time is brain. Clot-busting drugs given within three hours of onset can reduce long-term impairments.