Heart Attacks Training Video
All Videos > Medical Emergencies > Heart Attacks
Length: 7 min 59 sec
Show Transcript
1
00:00:02,068 --> 00:00:08,020
(Rescuer) Sir are you okay. (Patient) I have this pain that hurts in my chest.
2
00:00:08,020 --> 00:00:11,068
(Patient) I just feel awful. (Rescuer) Has it been going on a long time?
3
00:00:11,068 --> 00:00:14,063
(Patient) Its almost been about an hour and a half now, almost 2 hours.
4
00:00:14,063 --> 00:00:20,016
(Rescuer) Do you have heart problems normally? (Patient) Well, the doctor says I have a little bit of something,
5
00:00:20,021 --> 00:00:22,094
but I think I'm okay. I've been fine.
6
00:00:22,096 --> 00:00:25,006
(Rescuer) Can you describe what it feels like right now?
7
00:00:25,006 --> 00:00:28,088
(Patient) It feels like someone is grabbing me and squeezing.
8
00:00:28,088 --> 00:00:33,031
(Rescuer) Okay, alright. Do you have any allergies to any medications at all? (Patient) Not that I know of? No.
9
00:00:33,034 --> 00:00:36,095
(Rescuer) Have you taken an aspirin yet? (Patient) No, no aspirin.
10
00:00:36,095 --> 00:00:46,068
(Rescuer) I'll tell you what. Why don't I get one of these adult aspirins. Have you had any gastrointestinal bleeding.
11
00:00:46,068 --> 00:00:50,002
(Patient) No. I don't have any history of that. I've never had that problem.
12
00:00:50,002 --> 00:00:56,028
(Rescuer) You can go ahead and chew that up. Now this is the first time this has happened? No history?
13
00:00:56,028 --> 00:01:01,038
(Patient) No, it just started. It just came on me all of the sudden. (Rescuer) Have you called an ambulance yet.
14
00:01:01,038 --> 00:01:04,058
(Patient) No. I don't want an ambulance. (Rescuer) I'm going to go ahead and call the ambulance.
15
00:01:04,058 --> 00:01:07,041
(Patient) I'll be just fine I think, if I just sit up for a minute. (Rescuer) I understand,
16
00:01:07,041 --> 00:01:10,031
but this looks an awful lot like something that could be a heart attack
17
00:01:10,031 --> 00:01:14,038
and I think it would be wise if we make sure we get you checked out. If its nothing,
18
00:01:14,039 --> 00:01:21,049
we don't have to worry about it. But if it was a heart attack, time is really important. Is it okay if I call? (Patient) It's alright.
19
00:01:21,049 --> 00:01:27,057
(Rescuer) You just relax there. (Patient) I'm trying. (Rescuer) Are you comfortable the way you're sitting?
20
00:01:27,057 --> 00:01:34,057
(Victim) Sort of. Oh...this hurts. (Rescuer on phone) 911, I think we have a gentleman who's having a heart attack.
21
00:01:35,048 --> 00:01:39,008
Now let's talk about cardiovascular disease and heart attacks.
22
00:01:39,008 --> 00:01:44,073
When we talk about cardiovascular disease, I think its important that we realize that there are controllable
23
00:01:44,073 --> 00:01:47,052
risk factors and uncontrollable risk factors.
24
00:01:47,052 --> 00:01:56,082
Some of the controllable risk factors have to do with diet, exercise, stress, smoking, blood pressure,
25
00:01:56,082 --> 00:02:02,073
and diabetes. Blood pressure and diabetes especially, if you could control it through exercise and diet
26
00:02:02,073 --> 00:02:12,019
and medication but refuse to do so. The uncontrollable aspects of cardiovascular disease would be gender.
27
00:02:12,019 --> 00:02:20,039
Males have a higher risk factor than females genetically. That's being changed because of stress.
28
00:02:20,039 --> 00:02:27,006
Women are in the workplace as much or more than males. And so those are starting to make up for what
29
00:02:27,006 --> 00:02:35,059
women naturally had going for them in the genetic aspect. We know that age is an uncontrollable factor.
30
00:02:35,059 --> 00:02:41,077
As we get older we have these other debilitating problems like arthritis, back injuries, knee injuries...
31
00:02:41,077 --> 00:02:47,060
If we didn't prepare ourselves through a nice active younger area of our lives
32
00:02:47,060 --> 00:02:52,060
we're going to pay for it as we're older because we won't be able to maintain a healthful lifestyle.
33
00:02:52,060 --> 00:02:59,069
and that is only going to complicate cardiovascular disease. Race, we know from statistics that hispanics
34
00:02:59,069 --> 00:03:07,002
and black people are more prone to cardiovascular disease. There's some different things behind
35
00:03:07,002 --> 00:03:17,034
that which we could philosophize about. Is it diet, is it traditions? Is it part of the aspect of our culture?
36
00:03:17,034 --> 00:03:25,047
Are we eating fried foods versus non-fried foods? Is it that we eat fattier foods than others and so on and so forth?
37
00:03:25,047 --> 00:03:34,095
But, we do know based on statistics that the race piece of this does have some aspects that tilt the scale
38
00:03:34,095 --> 00:03:38,087
towards cardiovascular disease, and we need to be aware of that. Let's just say
39
00:03:38,087 --> 00:03:44,025
that those predisposing factors have caught up and a person actually develops the symptoms of a heart attack.
40
00:03:44,025 --> 00:03:52,036
Well, what are they? The classic symptoms of a heart attack for a male are profuse sweating, pressure in the chest,
41
00:03:52,036 --> 00:04:01,081
difficulty breathing, dizziness, weakness, pain under the breastbone..sternum, up into the neck,
42
00:04:01,081 --> 00:04:09,070
or radiating down the left arm or right arm, nausea, vomiting, this impending doom feeling
43
00:04:09,070 --> 00:04:15,050
I think I'm going to die. It is such a terrible thing to suffer through.
44
00:04:15,050 --> 00:04:20,077
These individuals usually cannot ignore it for long, not when it gets that bad.
45
00:04:20,077 --> 00:04:26,015
I said that males have these signs and symptoms. Females might be a little bit different.
46
00:04:26,015 --> 00:04:31,034
In my background and history as a paramedic on the street. What I noticed about females
47
00:04:31,034 --> 00:04:38,089
is that the pain is a little less classic. It can be more of a back pain. They tend to think it's muscular in nature.
48
00:04:38,089 --> 00:04:46,039
It does not seem to be as crushing. We know that females do not usually sweat as profusely as males, anyways.
49
00:04:46,039 --> 00:04:53,062
And because of that, they don't have this pouring sweat response. They tend to think it's indigestion
50
00:04:53,062 --> 00:05:00,080
or just tightness. They can tend to put it off a lot longer and cause more heart damage from that.
51
00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:07,012
And therefore when I've responded to the heart attack patients that were females, many times they were
52
00:05:07,013 --> 00:05:12,060
already in congestive heart failure, and the reason for the call was difficulty breathing because they
53
00:05:12,060 --> 00:05:16,022
had heart failure. You're going to want to bring the person into the position of comfort.
54
00:05:16,022 --> 00:05:22,054
Whatever they feel most comfortable in. Maybe it's sitting down, maybe it's leaning up against a wall.
55
00:05:22,054 --> 00:05:27,054
Maybe it's standing up. Whatever makes them feel comfortable, that's the position we want them to be in.
56
00:05:27,054 --> 00:05:32,026
We can loosen up tight clothing if it's around the neck. If they have a tie on, you can loosen the tie.
57
00:05:32,026 --> 00:05:36,026
If the shirt is tucked in or their belt is tight, you can loosen that up as well.
58
00:05:36,026 --> 00:05:42,023
Whatever makes them feel more comfortable and less anxious. A lot of what you say to the person
59
00:05:42,023 --> 00:05:48,009
can bring down the anxiety factor. Remember with anxiety, we build fight or flight mechanisms
60
00:05:48,009 --> 00:05:54,031
and that response can increase heart rate, it can increase blood pressure, it can cause vasoconstriction,
61
00:05:54,031 --> 00:06:00,044
and all of those things we don't need. We want the person to relax. So, telling them
62
00:06:00,044 --> 00:06:05,041
that they're in good hands...that help is on the way...that we're going to take good care of them
63
00:06:05,041 --> 00:06:10,018
that we're not going to leave them and that we're going to be by their side, helping them through this
64
00:06:10,018 --> 00:06:16,079
helps to reduce that anxiety. Beyond that, per the 2010 guidelines, we now will
65
00:06:16,079 --> 00:06:26,003
encourage the person, if they do not have an allergy to aspirin, or do not have a history of gastrointestinal bleeding,
66
00:06:26,003 --> 00:06:33,086
we can actually encourage them to take one adult dose of aspirin, or two baby aspirin.
67
00:06:33,086 --> 00:06:37,053
As long as they're not coated, they can chew them up and swallow them.
68
00:06:37,053 --> 00:06:43,037
The aspirin helps to make the platelets slipperier so that they will pass by each other
69
00:06:43,037 --> 00:06:50,006
and not continue to get stuck and create a bigger clot. It's not like coumadin or a blood thinner persay
70
00:06:50,006 --> 00:06:58,052
but aspirin has been known scientifically to help prevent further build up of blood clots and help protect the person.
71
00:06:58,052 --> 00:07:05,046
If this person has had a history of angina and they have nitroglycerin tabs or spray,
72
00:07:05,046 --> 00:07:11,066
we can assist them by getting it for them so they don't have to stress themselves out and go get the
73
00:07:11,066 --> 00:07:17,024
medication, but bring it to them and help them by taking it out of the bottle and giving it to them.
74
00:07:17,024 --> 00:07:22,038
These things will be assistive to them while we wait for the ambulance to arrive.
75
00:07:22,038 --> 00:07:28,000
Monitor this patient because if this person goes unconscious or unresponsive and stops breathing
76
00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:34,003
we're going to begin CPR immediately. If we have access to an AED, we're going to bare the chest,
77
00:07:34,003 --> 00:07:40,096
dry if off, and follow the guidelines for AED usage. And, time is of the essence to treat this person.
78
00:07:40,096 --> 00:07:44,087
Getting the ambulance on the way, getting emergency medical services on the way,
79
00:07:44,087 --> 00:07:49,035
and getting this person to final treatment so we can resolve the problem is key.
80
00:07:49,035 --> 00:07:53,094
So, don't delay your treatment and don't delay calling emergency medical services.
00:00:02,068 --> 00:00:08,020
(Rescuer) Sir are you okay. (Patient) I have this pain that hurts in my chest.
2
00:00:08,020 --> 00:00:11,068
(Patient) I just feel awful. (Rescuer) Has it been going on a long time?
3
00:00:11,068 --> 00:00:14,063
(Patient) Its almost been about an hour and a half now, almost 2 hours.
4
00:00:14,063 --> 00:00:20,016
(Rescuer) Do you have heart problems normally? (Patient) Well, the doctor says I have a little bit of something,
5
00:00:20,021 --> 00:00:22,094
but I think I'm okay. I've been fine.
6
00:00:22,096 --> 00:00:25,006
(Rescuer) Can you describe what it feels like right now?
7
00:00:25,006 --> 00:00:28,088
(Patient) It feels like someone is grabbing me and squeezing.
8
00:00:28,088 --> 00:00:33,031
(Rescuer) Okay, alright. Do you have any allergies to any medications at all? (Patient) Not that I know of? No.
9
00:00:33,034 --> 00:00:36,095
(Rescuer) Have you taken an aspirin yet? (Patient) No, no aspirin.
10
00:00:36,095 --> 00:00:46,068
(Rescuer) I'll tell you what. Why don't I get one of these adult aspirins. Have you had any gastrointestinal bleeding.
11
00:00:46,068 --> 00:00:50,002
(Patient) No. I don't have any history of that. I've never had that problem.
12
00:00:50,002 --> 00:00:56,028
(Rescuer) You can go ahead and chew that up. Now this is the first time this has happened? No history?
13
00:00:56,028 --> 00:01:01,038
(Patient) No, it just started. It just came on me all of the sudden. (Rescuer) Have you called an ambulance yet.
14
00:01:01,038 --> 00:01:04,058
(Patient) No. I don't want an ambulance. (Rescuer) I'm going to go ahead and call the ambulance.
15
00:01:04,058 --> 00:01:07,041
(Patient) I'll be just fine I think, if I just sit up for a minute. (Rescuer) I understand,
16
00:01:07,041 --> 00:01:10,031
but this looks an awful lot like something that could be a heart attack
17
00:01:10,031 --> 00:01:14,038
and I think it would be wise if we make sure we get you checked out. If its nothing,
18
00:01:14,039 --> 00:01:21,049
we don't have to worry about it. But if it was a heart attack, time is really important. Is it okay if I call? (Patient) It's alright.
19
00:01:21,049 --> 00:01:27,057
(Rescuer) You just relax there. (Patient) I'm trying. (Rescuer) Are you comfortable the way you're sitting?
20
00:01:27,057 --> 00:01:34,057
(Victim) Sort of. Oh...this hurts. (Rescuer on phone) 911, I think we have a gentleman who's having a heart attack.
21
00:01:35,048 --> 00:01:39,008
Now let's talk about cardiovascular disease and heart attacks.
22
00:01:39,008 --> 00:01:44,073
When we talk about cardiovascular disease, I think its important that we realize that there are controllable
23
00:01:44,073 --> 00:01:47,052
risk factors and uncontrollable risk factors.
24
00:01:47,052 --> 00:01:56,082
Some of the controllable risk factors have to do with diet, exercise, stress, smoking, blood pressure,
25
00:01:56,082 --> 00:02:02,073
and diabetes. Blood pressure and diabetes especially, if you could control it through exercise and diet
26
00:02:02,073 --> 00:02:12,019
and medication but refuse to do so. The uncontrollable aspects of cardiovascular disease would be gender.
27
00:02:12,019 --> 00:02:20,039
Males have a higher risk factor than females genetically. That's being changed because of stress.
28
00:02:20,039 --> 00:02:27,006
Women are in the workplace as much or more than males. And so those are starting to make up for what
29
00:02:27,006 --> 00:02:35,059
women naturally had going for them in the genetic aspect. We know that age is an uncontrollable factor.
30
00:02:35,059 --> 00:02:41,077
As we get older we have these other debilitating problems like arthritis, back injuries, knee injuries...
31
00:02:41,077 --> 00:02:47,060
If we didn't prepare ourselves through a nice active younger area of our lives
32
00:02:47,060 --> 00:02:52,060
we're going to pay for it as we're older because we won't be able to maintain a healthful lifestyle.
33
00:02:52,060 --> 00:02:59,069
and that is only going to complicate cardiovascular disease. Race, we know from statistics that hispanics
34
00:02:59,069 --> 00:03:07,002
and black people are more prone to cardiovascular disease. There's some different things behind
35
00:03:07,002 --> 00:03:17,034
that which we could philosophize about. Is it diet, is it traditions? Is it part of the aspect of our culture?
36
00:03:17,034 --> 00:03:25,047
Are we eating fried foods versus non-fried foods? Is it that we eat fattier foods than others and so on and so forth?
37
00:03:25,047 --> 00:03:34,095
But, we do know based on statistics that the race piece of this does have some aspects that tilt the scale
38
00:03:34,095 --> 00:03:38,087
towards cardiovascular disease, and we need to be aware of that. Let's just say
39
00:03:38,087 --> 00:03:44,025
that those predisposing factors have caught up and a person actually develops the symptoms of a heart attack.
40
00:03:44,025 --> 00:03:52,036
Well, what are they? The classic symptoms of a heart attack for a male are profuse sweating, pressure in the chest,
41
00:03:52,036 --> 00:04:01,081
difficulty breathing, dizziness, weakness, pain under the breastbone..sternum, up into the neck,
42
00:04:01,081 --> 00:04:09,070
or radiating down the left arm or right arm, nausea, vomiting, this impending doom feeling
43
00:04:09,070 --> 00:04:15,050
I think I'm going to die. It is such a terrible thing to suffer through.
44
00:04:15,050 --> 00:04:20,077
These individuals usually cannot ignore it for long, not when it gets that bad.
45
00:04:20,077 --> 00:04:26,015
I said that males have these signs and symptoms. Females might be a little bit different.
46
00:04:26,015 --> 00:04:31,034
In my background and history as a paramedic on the street. What I noticed about females
47
00:04:31,034 --> 00:04:38,089
is that the pain is a little less classic. It can be more of a back pain. They tend to think it's muscular in nature.
48
00:04:38,089 --> 00:04:46,039
It does not seem to be as crushing. We know that females do not usually sweat as profusely as males, anyways.
49
00:04:46,039 --> 00:04:53,062
And because of that, they don't have this pouring sweat response. They tend to think it's indigestion
50
00:04:53,062 --> 00:05:00,080
or just tightness. They can tend to put it off a lot longer and cause more heart damage from that.
51
00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:07,012
And therefore when I've responded to the heart attack patients that were females, many times they were
52
00:05:07,013 --> 00:05:12,060
already in congestive heart failure, and the reason for the call was difficulty breathing because they
53
00:05:12,060 --> 00:05:16,022
had heart failure. You're going to want to bring the person into the position of comfort.
54
00:05:16,022 --> 00:05:22,054
Whatever they feel most comfortable in. Maybe it's sitting down, maybe it's leaning up against a wall.
55
00:05:22,054 --> 00:05:27,054
Maybe it's standing up. Whatever makes them feel comfortable, that's the position we want them to be in.
56
00:05:27,054 --> 00:05:32,026
We can loosen up tight clothing if it's around the neck. If they have a tie on, you can loosen the tie.
57
00:05:32,026 --> 00:05:36,026
If the shirt is tucked in or their belt is tight, you can loosen that up as well.
58
00:05:36,026 --> 00:05:42,023
Whatever makes them feel more comfortable and less anxious. A lot of what you say to the person
59
00:05:42,023 --> 00:05:48,009
can bring down the anxiety factor. Remember with anxiety, we build fight or flight mechanisms
60
00:05:48,009 --> 00:05:54,031
and that response can increase heart rate, it can increase blood pressure, it can cause vasoconstriction,
61
00:05:54,031 --> 00:06:00,044
and all of those things we don't need. We want the person to relax. So, telling them
62
00:06:00,044 --> 00:06:05,041
that they're in good hands...that help is on the way...that we're going to take good care of them
63
00:06:05,041 --> 00:06:10,018
that we're not going to leave them and that we're going to be by their side, helping them through this
64
00:06:10,018 --> 00:06:16,079
helps to reduce that anxiety. Beyond that, per the 2010 guidelines, we now will
65
00:06:16,079 --> 00:06:26,003
encourage the person, if they do not have an allergy to aspirin, or do not have a history of gastrointestinal bleeding,
66
00:06:26,003 --> 00:06:33,086
we can actually encourage them to take one adult dose of aspirin, or two baby aspirin.
67
00:06:33,086 --> 00:06:37,053
As long as they're not coated, they can chew them up and swallow them.
68
00:06:37,053 --> 00:06:43,037
The aspirin helps to make the platelets slipperier so that they will pass by each other
69
00:06:43,037 --> 00:06:50,006
and not continue to get stuck and create a bigger clot. It's not like coumadin or a blood thinner persay
70
00:06:50,006 --> 00:06:58,052
but aspirin has been known scientifically to help prevent further build up of blood clots and help protect the person.
71
00:06:58,052 --> 00:07:05,046
If this person has had a history of angina and they have nitroglycerin tabs or spray,
72
00:07:05,046 --> 00:07:11,066
we can assist them by getting it for them so they don't have to stress themselves out and go get the
73
00:07:11,066 --> 00:07:17,024
medication, but bring it to them and help them by taking it out of the bottle and giving it to them.
74
00:07:17,024 --> 00:07:22,038
These things will be assistive to them while we wait for the ambulance to arrive.
75
00:07:22,038 --> 00:07:28,000
Monitor this patient because if this person goes unconscious or unresponsive and stops breathing
76
00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:34,003
we're going to begin CPR immediately. If we have access to an AED, we're going to bare the chest,
77
00:07:34,003 --> 00:07:40,096
dry if off, and follow the guidelines for AED usage. And, time is of the essence to treat this person.
78
00:07:40,096 --> 00:07:44,087
Getting the ambulance on the way, getting emergency medical services on the way,
79
00:07:44,087 --> 00:07:49,035
and getting this person to final treatment so we can resolve the problem is key.
80
00:07:49,035 --> 00:07:53,094
So, don't delay your treatment and don't delay calling emergency medical services.
Heart Attacks Training Summary:
It is important to recognize the problem before the heart stops. You may notice signs and symptoms like sweating, difficulty breathing, chest pain, and nausea. The best thing you can do is prevent a heart attack. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in America and is what leads to heart attacks. You can prevent cardiovascular disease with a healthy diet, regular exercise, managing stress, controlling diabetes, controlling high blood pressure, and stopping smoking. If you believe someone is having a heart attack, call 911 immediately. It is important to sit him down and reassure him to reduce his anxiety level until help arrives.
