What to do in a heart attack?
If you have the kind of chest pain just described, you may be having a heart attack. So seek medical assistance immediately. Many people delay seeking medical help thinking the pain will go away. This could be fatal. More than half of all deaths from heart attack occur in the first few hours. Valuable time may be lost in initiating proper treatment. The earlier a heart attack victim gets to the hospital the better are the chances of survival and more importantly the possibility of saving extensive muscle damage.
If you suspect that you are having a heart attack take the following steps:
1. If you are not sure whether the chest pain is a heart attack or not, call your doctor immediately and describe your symptoms carefully.
2. If your doctor can not be reached, go to the nearest hospital at once.
3. Do not drive to your doctor/hospital on your own. Instead, ask your immediate family member/driver or friends to take you to the hospital.
4. Avoid exertion and stay calm.
5. If you have been a heart patient before and have nitroglycerine tablet (GTN) or GTN spray with you, sit down or lie down and put one GTN tablet underneath your tongue or spray GTN inside mouth. If the pain is not relieved within 5 minutes, you can take another GTN tablet or GTN spray. If there is still on improvement, you should then seek medical attention immediately.
