Early Heart Attack Care: What you can do!

Transcription

1 Early Heart Attack Care: What you can do! For questions about content contact: Judith Peters, MSN, RN, CCRN Education Coordinator Training and Development Department Last Updated:

2 Early Heart Attack Care Early heart attack care saves lives.

3 Scenario Let s say you are on your way to the cafeteria. You see a middle-aged woman holding her chest. She looks pale and sweaty. She says she can t get her breath I have some tightness in my chest and I feel like I have to vomit! What do you think is going on? What are you going to do?

4 Objectives What you will learn in this presentation: What the early signs of a Heart Attack are and how they look in different people; Why we need to get help fast; What people can do to lower the chance they ll have a heart attack; What CFVHS has for people with heart problems; What YOU can do to help save a life!

5 Why is Early Heart Attack Care (EHAC) Important? Coronary artery disease (disease of the arteries in the heart) is the Number One Killer of men and women in the U.S. It caused 1 in every 6 deaths in the U.S. in Every 25 seconds someone in the U.S. will have a heart attack. Every minute someone in the U.S. dies from a heart attack. But

6 Why is Early Heart Attack Care (EHAC) Important? You can help stop a heart attack in it s tracks. Less people will die if you act fast. So let s take a look at how a heart attack happens.

7 What is a Heart Attack? Have you ever tried to use a garden hose that was left on the ground a few months and gotten clogged with dirt and leaves? The water doesn t come out very well does it?

8 What is a Heart Attack? Your blood vessels (arteries) are like a garden hose. The arteries carry important oxygen to all parts of your heart. Without oxygen, your heart muscle will start to die.

9 What Causes a Heart Attack? Many things can cause a problem with blood flow to your heart. Diet, age, the way you live, and other diseases can all cause blockages in your arteries so the oxygen in the blood can t get through to the heart muscle very well. These changes occur over time, and cause problems from chest pain to a heart attack. All of these problems are called Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS).

10 How do these blockages happen? Fatty material builds up just under the inner layer of the artery. This material is called plaque. Over time plaque makes the artery smaller so not as much blood can get through. This material irritates the blood vessel wall and damages the artery wall.

11 How do these blockages happen? Sometimes the plaque leaks into the blood stream causing your body to fix the damage by forming a blood clot. Below is a picture of plaque build up over time.

12 What happens when you have a blockage? No matter how it gets clogged, blood can t get to the heart muscle. If blood can t get to the muscle, neither can the oxygen it is carrying. This hurts the heart muscle - without enough oxygen the heart muscle can t work.

13 What is a Heart Attack? If the artery stays clogged long enough without oxygen, the heart muscle will start to die or actually die. Once the muscle dies it does not come back to life. The larger the area of the heart that dies the greater the chances the victim could die.

14 There are Early Signs Sometimes there are small signs that a person might have a problem with the blood flow in their heart. 50% of all heart attacks can be prevented when symptoms first start with early treatment. 85% of heart damage happens in the first 2 hours of a heart attack.

15 There are Early Signs So wouldn t you like to know how to catch it before too much heart muscle dies? That s what we are going to talk about next: The Warning Signs Of A Heart Attack A person may feel some or all of the following signs of a heart attack. They may feel the symptoms suddenly, or they may have symptoms days to weeks before having a heart attack.

16 Early Signs of a Heart Attack Some of the warning signs include: Chest discomfort: they may call it pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain in the center of the chest. Shortness of breath: they might feel like they can t catch their breath. Sometimes they can feel this before chest discomfort. Discomfort in other areas: pain that travels down one or both arms, their neck, back, jaw, or stomach.

17 Early Signs of a Heart Attack Other warning signs include: cold sweats; feeling clammy; nauseated; sick to their stomach; lightheaded; and/or dizzy. Symptoms can come and go at first, and then become constant and severe.

18 Why You Want to Work Fast Time is Muscle. The quicker the clogged artery is opened, the faster the heart muscle gets blood and oxygen, the less muscle is hurt or dies - the person is more likely to live.

19 What About the Elderly, Women, and Diabetics? The elderly, women, and diabetics sometimes do not have the same symptoms as others. Elderly: They may faint or complain of weakness with no chest pain. Women: Some may complain of being tired and unable to sleep; and may complain of stomach, back, or jaw pain. Diabetics: May not have chest pain; but they may have shortness of breath.

20 What You Should Do In your community or at home: Call 911 immediately if you see someone with the Warning Signs. Wait for the paramedics don t drive them to the hospital. The paramedics can start the right care on the scene. They have all the medicine and equipment they need.

21 Why Do Some Delay? Even though you have learned how important it is to work fast to save the Heart, there are still people who wait. Some reasons people delay are: they are too busy, have too much to do; they don t want to be embarrassed or bother anyone How many hearts do you have? Denial and procrastination are the heart s enemy.

22 Why Do Some Delay? It s probably heart burn, indigestion, or gas. I must have eaten too much. I ll just take some soda bicarb. Heart attack signs are sometimes a lot like indigestion. The stomach may be able to wait for care, but remember that for the heart time is muscle. Only a doctor can tell you which it is heart or stomach.

23 Act Fast So Remember: Waiting chokes off oxygen to the heart. You are an important part of saving a Heart. Ignoring symptoms or a delay in getting help can kill. Call for help quickly. Stay with the person until the help arrives.

24 How to Lower the Risk Doesn t it make sense to work on changing those things that can cause a heart attack? Now we re going to look at those things we call Risk Factors. Some risk factors we can change - some we can t. First, let s look at the risk factors we can t change. Then we ll look at the risk factors we can change.

25 Risk Factors We Can t Change There are a few risk factors we just cannot change: Gender (sex): men have a higher risk for heart attacks than women. Heredity: if a blood relative has had a heart attack, a person is more likely to have one too. Race: African Americans are more likely than Caucasians to have a heart attack. Age: risk increases with age because our arteries have had more time for plaque to build up.

26 Risk Factors We CAN Change The good news is there are more risk factors that we can change and do something about! Things like: High blood pressure Smoking High blood cholesterol Obesity Physical activity level Diabetes Stress and Anger

27 How to Lower the Risk Factors So, let s cover what everyone can do to lower the risk of having a heart attack. Some ways to lower your risk factors include: Control your blood pressure: If your doctor has prescribed medications, take them. Control your cholesterol levels: stay away from fatty foods. Don t smoke! Talk to your doctor about ways to stop, if you do. Exercise regularly: take the stairs instead of the elevator.

28 How to Lower the Risk Factors Other ways to lower your risk factors include: Keep to a healthy weight. Eat a heart-healthy diet: fruits and vegetables. Manage stress - be aware of what pushes your buttons and look at different ways of dealing with stress. Get regular medical checkups. Know Your Number

29 CFVHS Cares for Hearts That was a lot of stuff! But guess what? Cape Fear Valley has lots of ways to help the community and its employees deal with things of the heart.

30 The Chest Pain Center The Chest Pain Center at CFVHS screens low to moderate risk patients with chest pain. They also provide quick assessment of heart attack signs and symptoms. And they provide team-based care for the heart attack patient.

31 Testing for Heart Problems We have many tests to help doctors find out about how a person s heart is working. Invasive tests (where tubes or wires are placed in the body) Non-invasive tests (where only medicines are given) We also have procedures to open clogged arteries and treatments to help the heart work better.

32 CFVHS Cares for Hearts All of these services are a part of the whole CFVHS team that cares for our patients. You are a part of that team. So in this last part we ll look at what you and everyone at CFVHS is expected to do.

33 CFVHS Employee Role Remember what we talked about in recognizing a heart attack and what you could do? Well that s what we want you to do here at work! Recognize early signs of heart attack. Get help fast. Teach your family and community how to recognize the signs and symptoms, what to do when signs and symptoms are present, and how to lower risk.

34 CFVHS Employee Role Sounds simple huh? Just a few more details to let you know some specifics if you recognize signs of someone having a heart attack.

35 CFVHS Employee Role If you are inside the main building at CVFHS and HRSH: If it is a patient: tell a nurse right away. If it is a visitor, family member, or another employee: dial 22 and ask for Rapid Response to come to your location.

36 CFVHS Employee Role If you are inside the main building at Bladen County Hospital: If it is a patient: tell a nurse right away. If it is a visitor, family member, or another employee: dial 70 and ask for Rapid Response to come to your location.

37 CFVHS Employee Role If you are outside the main building at CFVHS, BCH, and HRSH: Dial and stay with the person until the emergency response staff get there. For example: If you are at the Medical Arts Center, the Education Building, BHC, in the Computer Lab, or at any of the outpatient clinics call

38 The End - Almost We ve gone over a lot of things about heart attacks: What it is What it looks like Why people need help fast What people can do to lower risk of a heart attack What CFVHS does and what you can do for people with signs of a heart attack

39 Don t forget Call for Early Heart Attack Care for the following symptoms that last more than a few minutes: Pressure or pain in your chest; Pain in arm, back, neck, jaw, stomach; Shortness of breath; Dizziness; Cold Sweats; Nausea; Unusual Weakness.

40 Listen to Your Heart The heart you save may be your own! Lets see the last slide - can you save a life?

41 Can you save a life? Remember our scenario: you are on your way to the cafeteria. You see a middle-aged woman holding her chest. She looks pale and sweaty. She says she can t get her breath I have some tightness in my chest and I feel like I have to vomit! What do you think is going on? What are you going to do?