Over 24 lakh people die of heart attacks in India every year

17 March, 2013

Water-soluble aspirin and clot-dissolving drugs can stop most heart attacks in progress, reduce disability and save lives. They work best if given within one hour of when signs of heart attack begin to appear. It is therefore important to recognize the warning signs of a heart attack and act right away.

Every year, over 24 lakh people die of heart attacks in India. About half of those deaths take place within one hour of the onset of warning signs and before the patient ever reaches a hospital, added Dr Praveen Chandra, Chairman, and Interventional Cardiology at Medanta – The Medicity.

The five warning signs of a heart attack, which everybody must know are:

1. Pain or discomfort in the jaw, neck or back.

2. Feeling weak, lightheaded, or faint.

3. Chest pain or discomfort.

4. Pain or discomfort in the arms or shoulder.

5. Shortness of breath

Act fast

1. Take 300 mg water–soluble aspirin and chew it if a heart attack is suspected.

2. Get yourself rushed to a nearest heart centre for clot–dissolving therapy.

3. You may require an emergency angiography and angioplasty to remove the clot.

4. If there is a cardiac arrest, the bystander should follow the CPR 10 mantra: “within 10 minutes of death, earlier the better; at least for the next 10 minutes, longer the better; compress the centre of the chest of the dead person continuously and effectively with a speed of 10x10 i.e. 100 per minute.