Beware of Weekend Heart Attacks
RobinMillerMD
Posted: Mar 30, 07 12:37pm Beware of having a heart attack on a weekend. If that sounds like odd medical advice, then you need to take a look at a recent study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers found that patients admitted to the hospital for their first heart attack had a death rate that was 5-percent higher if they were admitted on the weekend. What is the problem?It is crucial to get treatment as soon as possible when a patient is having a heart attack. In the study, patients were more likely to have to wait if admitted during a weekend. Weekend patients were also less likely to get life-saving treatments, such as angioplasty and stent placement, in a timely manner. The reason: Many cardiac catheterization labs work with a smaller staff on the weekends. What is a person to do?First of all, the best thing to do is avoid getting a heart attack by preventing it from happening. The key is to be checked by your doctor and to modify your cardiac risk factors if you have them. That includes maintaining a normal blood pressure, low cholesterol, avoiding developing diabetes by exercising and maintaining a healthy body weight, not smoking, and (if appropriate), taking a baby aspirin a day. If you do have underlying heart disease, it is possible to find it and treat it prior to having a heart attack. It is better to have a procedure such as an angiogram or an angioplasty under a controlled, elective situation versus an emergency. Obviously, you can't really choose when you'll have a heart attack, but you can be prepared. Find out which hospitals near you specialize in heart disease -- those that perform cardiac surgery are the best ones to go to because they are more likely to be equipped for emergency cardiac procedures. If you do develop the symptoms of a heart attack (chest pain, jaw pain, shortness of breath, overwhelming fatigue, left arm pain) chew an aspirin, and call 911. The key is to get to the hospital as soon as possible. Although the study showed an increase in mortality for heart attack patients on the weekend, it doesn't mean you should wait. Furthermore, now that the results are out, my bet is that there will be some staffing changes for the majority of the hospitals around the country! Have Something to Say? | ADVERTISEMENT  |
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Posted: Mar 30, 07 1:34pm
A recent study that has been all over the news lately, has found that for those patients with chronic, stable angina (a form of coronary artery disease) treatment with medical management (blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, Aspirin, etc)is just as good as stent placement in terms of mortality. This is another reason to be proactive when it comes to your heart health.
Posted: Mar 30, 07 5:52pm
I have heard that women have some different symptoms than men when they are having heart attacks. Is this true, and if so, what are they?
Thanks.
Posted: Mar 31, 07 9:56am
Hi SallyWhite, Women often do have different symptoms than men. They CAN get the crushing chest pain that radiates to the left arm that is typically described by men. However, many women with heart attack describe vague chest and abdominal discomfort, shortness of breath, overwhelming fatigue, jaw pain, and/or they may just feel like they are dragged out like people do when they have the flu. They may have trouble sleeping and can experience anxiety with a sense of impending doom. If a woman has any of these symptoms, or just the sense that something with her heart is not right, she needs to be checked out right away!