5 Ways You Can Help Someone Going Through A Heart Attack

Due to a blood clot, a person may experience a heart attack since the heart can’t get enough blood supply. Heart attack can be scary because it may suddenly happen, and some don’t recover from it, depending on how much the heart is affected.

However, you can minimize the risk of losing someone because of such illness when you know what to do. Even if you’re not a medical practitioner, it’ll help if you know how to respond when someone has a heart attack.

Below are some ways you can do in Heart Attack situation:

1. Be Familiar With The Signs

Depending on the gravity of the chest pain, some experience it for more than 15 minutes. Other people undergoing such an attack may also experience jaw or back pain, a vaguer symptom. The person may not experience chest heaviness or pressure in some rare cases. But in these cases, the person may have felt the warning signs days or hours in advance before a heart attack suddenly strikes.

If you know someone who has a history of heart attack, it’s best to understand that the following signs may indicate an impending or ongoing heart attack:

• Older women and adults become more fatigued or weaker.
• Shortness of breath or agonal breathing. In their explanation, experts describe it as an abnormal breathing which can sound like labored or snorting breathing.
• Arms emit tingling, aching, or numbness
• Vomiting
• Indigestion
• Nausea
• Lightheadedness
• Cold sweat
• The center of the chest is painful like being full, squeezed, or pressured. The person may also feel such pain in the stomach, back, arms, shoulder, and jaw.

2. Call For Medical Help

Wherever you are, it’s best to call for a medical emergency line if you see the signs above that make you suspect a person has a heart attack. This step is vital since time is essential in heart attack cases. The faster a medical help arrives, the higher the chances are of saving the person.

This can also be your first response if you’re unaware of the signs above. By calling an emergency hotline, you can ask for guidance on what you should do best in that situation. The emergency support on the other line is most likely to instruct you on ways to help the person in need while waiting for an ambulance to come.

3. Give Aspirin

After calling for help, you should let the person chew an aspirin. If you don’t have one, try asking the person as most people with heart ailments have this medicine with them, unlike other drugs that are lacking during the pandemic. However, you should also ensure that the person isn’t allergic to such medication.

With aspirin, you can help make the person’s blood flow better as it can lower the heart’s workload. Since it’s a blood thinner, it can make the platelets clot harder in the blood.

For a maximum effect, it’s recommended to take at least 75 mg up to 325 mg. You should also know if the person has taken a daily low-dose aspirin. When that is so, then a lower dose is best advised. Moreover, for aspirin to take effect quickly, it’s best to make the person chew it before swallowing. It’s also better if the aspirin tablets are uncoated for quicker absorption.

4. Calm The Person

While the chest pain may be uncomfortable, it’s best to help calm the person. Ensure they’re well seated or leaning against a wall or chair. If they can’t move quickly, help them until they’re in a safe area. Since a heart attack may make them nauseous, they may not be able to stand straight on their own. Then, you should also try to calm them when they’re panicking. If need be, loosen their belts or ties so they’ll feel more comfortable.

5. Avoid Applying Pressure On The Chest

Most importantly, you should avoid applying pressure on the person’s chest while having a heart attack. Applying CPR or pressure may only help during a cardiac arrest or when the heart stops beating. However, use this when you’re trained or well-versed in applying CPR.

The emergency hotline support may ask you to apply CPR in some instances. But only proceed with this step only after calling it on the hotline.

Conclusion

A heart attack can happen anytime at anyone, so you need to be ready to help someone having a heart attack. That’s why the ways above are essential to understand so that when you have to help, you can do it the right way. You may not be a medical practitioner, but doing so may help save the person in need.