HEART ATTACK
CAUTION
IS IT AN EMERGENCY?
RECOMMENDED MODULES FOR TREATMENT
CPR
INJURIES
WOUNDS
ESSENTIALS
WHAT TO DO FIRST
CHECK THE PATIENT FOR THE FOLLOWING SIGNS
- Vice-like chest pain, spreading to one or both arms
- Breathlessness
- Discomfort, like indigestion, in upper abdomen
- Sudden dizziness or faintness
- Sudden collapse, with no warning
- Casualty may have sense of impending doom
- Ashen skin and blueness of lips
- Rapid, weak, or irregular pulse
- Profuse sweating
- Extreme gasping for air (air hunger)
how to treat it
MAKE CASUALTY COMFORTABLE
Help the casualty into a halfsitting position. Support his head and shoulders and place cushions under his knees. Reassure the casualty.
CALL FOR EMERGENCY HELP
Call for emergency help. Tell the dispatcher that you suspect a heart attack. Call the casualty’s doctor as well, if he asks you
to do so.
GIVE CASUALTY MEDICATION
If the casualty is fully conscious, help him take one full dose aspirin tablet (325mg); advise him to chew it slowly. If the casualty has tablets or a spray for angina, allow him to take it himself. Help him if necessary.
MONITOR CASUALTY
Encourage the casualty to rest. Keep any bystanders away. Monitor and record the casualty’s vital signs—level of response,
breathing, and pulse—until emergency help arrives.
CAUTION
– Be aware of the possibility of collapse without warning.
– Do not give the casualty aspirinif he is allergic to it.
– If the casualty loses consciousness, lay him on his back, then assess breathing.
– Be prepared to begin CPR with compressions