As I'm 52 years old, I'd REALLY appreciate you whipper-snappers learning those symptoms, as well as how to do CPR and to operate a emergency AED.

/You can play on my lawn anytime too.

/vote Meadow Party '08

HHHHHNNNNNGGGGG

AirForceVet: As I'm 52 years old, I'd REALLY appreciate you whipper-snappers learning those symptoms, as well as how to do CPR and to operate a emergency AED.

In the sue-happy US, couldn't a good Samaritan doing CPR be sued if the guy he's trying to help dies, or cracks a rib?

No good deed goes unpunished in the US.

Good Samaratin law protects people who assist in cases of emergency.
Check with your state to see what is covered but generally if you do what a normal person would do to assist you are protected.

This is why we all should have robot hearts. Then there would be no heart attacks and your heart could shoot lasers at people. You can't tell me that you wouldn't want to shoot a heart laser the next Jehovah's witness that shows up at your door.

/Hi, we have some literature that may...
//BZZZAP
///Where's your Jehovah now biatch?

Most people know the classical symptoms of heart attack... crushing chest pain, palpitations, pain radiating to the arms, etc. Medicine is just sort of realizing that a lot of heart attacks present atypically, especially in women. The pain can seem a lot like heartburn discomfort, or even jaw or toothache type of pain... nausea is common, sweatiness, shortness of breath, etc. It's important to be aware of your family history and risk factors, and not be too macho to call your doctor or visit the ER if something funky is happening.

submitter: only 1 in 4 US Americans know symptoms of heart attack,

Coincidently, that's the ratio of Americans that won't die of one.

/It's not news, it's MyocardialInfarktion.com

AirForceVet: As I'm 52 years old, I'd REALLY appreciate you whipper-snappers learning those symptoms, as well as how to do CPR and to operate a emergency AED.

/You can play on my lawn anytime too.

Chances of successful resusitation in the field is pretty darn low. That's why you need to call when you start having the symptoms. Once you are in full arrest, that's pretty much it. Even in the hospital I think it's less that 10%, certainly less that 15%. And you may Schiavoed if you are brought back.

And Jules, No, they can't be sued. There is a law, called the Good Samaritan law oddly enough, that prevents it. Also, if you aren't cracking ribs, you aren't doing CPR right.

Now that I've read TFA and know the symptoms, I can die knowing what killed me since I don't have the insurance to cover any response or treatment.

/Unsure how that helps, but thanks!

I know when to dientify! When I feel a tingling in my left hand that means its time to slow down on the nose candy and tell that chick to get on top for a while

MOHWowbagger: Most people know the classical symptoms of heart attack... crushing chest pain, palpitations, pain radiating to the arms, etc. Medicine is just sort of realizing that a lot of heart attacks present atypically, especially in women. The pain can seem a lot like heartburn discomfort, or even jaw or toothache type of pain... nausea is common, sweatiness, shortness of breath, etc. It's important to be aware of your family history and risk factors, and not be too macho to call your doctor or visit the ER if something funky is happening.

I have all that shait all the time. Seriously.

"The pain can seem a lot like heartburn discomfort, or even jaw or toothache type of pain... nausea is common, sweatiness, shortness of breath, etc."

i have these symptoms 4 times a day.



/Damned habanero sauce.

Always carry an asprine, it will save your ass.

JerkyMeat: Always carry an asprine, it will save your ass.

YOu my friend, have never felt the pain of the habanero sauce the next day. Nothing saves your ass.

SaintAwesome: MOHWowbagger: Most people know the classical symptoms of heart attack... crushing chest pain, palpitations, pain radiating to the arms, etc. Medicine is just sort of realizing that a lot of heart attacks present atypically, especially in women. The pain can seem a lot like heartburn discomfort, or even jaw or toothache type of pain... nausea is common, sweatiness, shortness of breath, etc. It's important to be aware of your family history and risk factors, and not be too macho to call your doctor or visit the ER if something funky is happening.

I have all that shait all the time. Seriously.

Don't tell me, tell a doctor.

MOHWowbagger: Medicine is just sort of realizing that a lot of heart attacks present atypically, especially in women.

THIS. And ditto for diabetics.

AirForceVet: As I'm 52 years old, I'd REALLY appreciate you whipper-snappers learning those symptoms, as well as how to do CPR and to operate a emergency AED.

Done!

Bob Down: /It's not news, it's MyocardialInfarktion.com

I LOL'd. If the baby wakes up, it's your ass.

MOHWowbagger: SaintAwesome: MOHWowbagger:
I have all that shait all the time. Seriously.

Don't tell me, tell a doctor.

I can't. My insurance only covers medical treatment I get on Fark.

The success rate is very low, i have lost many many more than i have saved. mostly because it was too late for anything to work.

/911 operator
//EMT
/// retired

SomeoneDumb

Who cares if you don't have insurance? You come in to my ER and I'll hook your ass up with the latest and greatest treatment... doesn't matter if you can or can't pay. If you're dead, what good is insurance and who cares how much you might have owed?

Aspirin!!!!! Is there something it can't do?

Actually, it won't bring a hooker back to life

SomeoneDumb: Now that I've read TFA and know the symptoms, I can die knowing what killed me since I don't have the insurance to cover any response or treatment.

/Unsure how that helps, but thanks!

Show up in an emergency room and they'll fix you the best they can, insurance or not. It's federal law. That's sadly one of the reasons that healthcare costs so much, people who have dumbass reasons for going to the ER, like a toothache, that don't have insurance. The hospital just tacks on the cost to the next guy who does.

...Mama Leone left a note on the door
She said, "Sonny, move out to the country"
Ah but working too hard can give you a
Heart attack-ack-ack-ack-ack-ack
You oughta know by now -

/clue to the whipper-snappers...stay off the lawn, Billy Joel might crash into you

Every year in America, more homicidal maniacs die from avoidable heart attacks than people spill their coffee running for elevators.
Sad, but true.
Please, do what you can to protect out nation's homicidal maniacs.
_{(An unsanctioned message from the American Red Cross)}

I had 4 out of 5 of those symptoms a number of years back. I didn't think it was a heart attack since my pulse was strong and steady. I went to the ER and it was determined to be Bronchitis. A course of antibiotics cleared that up and actually relieved the symptoms in very short order. Infectious disease hadn't occurred to me so I hadn't even taken my temperature.

The object of this story? It may not always be a heart attack. Muscle strains may give some of the symptoms too. On the other hand my father died of a heart attack because he ignored the warning signs.

Unknown_Poltroon
you are like the ass whisperer.

MOHWowbagger: ...nausea is common, sweatiness, shortness of breath, etc. It's important to be aware of your family history and risk factors, and not be too macho to call your doctor or visit the ER if something funky is happening...

I've had all of those symptoms at the same time on 4 separate occasions, plus the sensation that my head was about to pop. Afterwards felt as weak as a kitten and had to lie down for a couple of hours. My doctor said it was an overactive adrenaline response, but I sure didn't feel like I could lift a car.

"You gotta have hea-a-a-rt...."

Unknown_Poltroon: JerkyMeat: Always carry an asprine, it will save your ass.

YOu my friend, have never felt the pain of the habanero sauce the next day. Nothing saves your ass.

I LOL'd. Always one for hot scatological humor.

My dad has had 2 (very minor, thank goodness) heart attacks. Both times he thought he just had heartburn. It doesn't have to be painful for it to be a heart attack. I think a lot of people think there has to be this massive pain in the chest, otherwise it can't be a heart attack. WRONG!

Then again, I once had severe shortness of breath, pain in my chest, and lightheadedness/weakness and it turned out to be pneumonia.

Moral of the story? Go see a damned doctor, don't diagnose yourself with the help of Yahoo or the AP. (Oh, and don't do aspirin therapy unless your doctor tells you to do it.)

yotta: I had 4 out of 5 of those symptoms a number of years back. I didn't think it was a heart attack since my pulse was strong and steady. I went to the ER and it was determined to be Bronchitis. A course of antibiotics cleared that up and actually relieved the symptoms in very short order. Infectious disease hadn't occurred to me so I hadn't even taken my temperature.

The object of this story? It may not always be a heart attack. Muscle strains may give some of the symptoms too. On the other hand my father died of a heart attack because he ignored the warning signs.

Good on you for getting your ass to the ER. Emergency medical personnel are trained to rule out the worst possible scenario first, so had it been a heart attack, you would have been saved.

submitter: pain in ... "Ack"

Good thing it wasn't Syn. Then we'd all be screwed.

Look, most of time it's just gaHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNGGGGG.

Wearing a silly hat is a risk factor.

Link (new window)

Also they think they have time to get a heart attack taken care of. I remember when I was an EMT a patient actually tried to drive himself to the hospital and wrecked. We had a call a few weeks later in a nursing home and he was there, a total vegetable. He was middle aged and looked healthy.

Just as planned...

EL_FABREZ: Also they think they have time to get a heart attack taken care of. I remember when I was an EMT a patient actually tried to drive himself to the hospital and wrecked.

This is America, man! We can drive eating fries. We can drive drinking coffee. We can drive eating bowls of cereal, or shaving, or using a smartphone.


We had a call a few weeks later in a nursing home and he was there, a total vegetable. He was middle aged and looked healthy.

Oh. I guess we can't do everything and drive at the same time.


/ticket for one
//actually, I'll drive
///and use my Blackberry while I'm changing lanes!

JerkyMeat: Always carry an asprine, it will save your ass.

Yep, it's one of the only things they can do for you at the hospital I've heard. It increases blood flow to the heart muscle (and everywhere really), lack of blood flow is the cause of the heart attack.

Later on they can look into things like the health of your arteries, but the immediate treatment is aspirin (assuming your heart is still beating).

I'm 28. In November I started experiencing shortness of breath, shoulder & neck pain, total weakness. Turns out it was Pericarditis, (an inflammation of the fibrous sac surrounding the heart). It was the most pain I've ever felt in my life. My significant seriously thought I was going to die.

I drove to the hospital and was so weak, I could only walk in what felt like slow motion. I was put on morphine for three days to help with the pain. It never did go away. If I had anymore fluid on my heart, they would have had to do a tap to drain it.

I don't think people seriously believe me when I tell them how painful it was. My doctor told me the pain is comparable to that of a gunshot wound.

I would not wish that much pain on my worst enemy.

My husband's mother died of a heart attack (at age 58) a few years ago. She had what she thought was heartburn and went to her doctor, who told her she had angina or something. She went home, started the laundry, and dropped dead at the bottom of the stairs. Horrible. Make sure your doctor is well informed, too.

Oh, and if a doctor tells you it's indigestion or whatever, go get a second opinion.

Where I live, I wonder how some docs got thought medical school.

The groups best informed of heart attack warning signs and what to do about them tended to be white, highly educated, and women. Also scoring well were residents of West Virginia, which has some of the nation's highest heart attack death rates.

The more you know, is what kills you!

AirForceVet: As I'm 52 years old, I'd REALLY appreciate you whipper-snappers learning those symptoms, as well as how to do CPR and to operate a emergency AED.

[raises hand] I know how to do the Heimlich Maneuver.

/what?

I've done cpr twice in my life. First guy died, second guy lived. Cracked ribs on both. Would do it again if I had to. But I wonder who is worse; those who sue someone for saving their life or the jurors who award the money? I hope the plaintiff and the jurors die of heart attacks in a building full of people who don't wanna get sued.

peachpicker: /vote Meadow Party '08

damn, i got here 2.5 hours late. the wrong bill got elected president!

Several other signs of impending cardiac distress:






and of course...


/the black border is in memory of all of us who love YUMMY BACON

The great thing about AEDs is just about any idiot can use one. Put it on and it tells you exactly what to do. "Shocking, stand back". "Perform CPR". "Checking vitals... preparing to shock, stand back".

Also, I believe as long as you are properly certified you cannot get into trouble, but IANAL.

I just had my first heart attack, albeit it was a small one, and I'm only 25!

I had an artery spasm next to my heart which the docs said was from stress. Let me tell you, it sucks. I felt like my chest was going to explode and this was a minor heart attack.

I don't wish that pain on anyone, it is the worst ever and I've had my fair share of pain.

/just recently got dumped from a 3 year relationship
//cholesterol level of 160 and I weigh 150lbs (6'2").
///I'm otherwise healthy!
////slashes reduce stress studies show

let me rephrase that. Hopefully my first and ONLY heart attack.

I know someone in his early 20s who died of a heart attack a couple years ago.