“Most of the time, they don’t grab their chest and ‘oh, heart attack,’” Morgan gasped. “Usually a heart attack kind of creeps up on you.”
Moran, operations supervisor for Moore County Emergency Medical Services, during a workshop titled “What to Do Until Help Arrives” at the Douglass Community Center in Southern Pines, sponsored by the Moore County Department of Aging. The workshop covered what to do in case of heart attack or stroke.
In about half of the fatal heart attacks, death occurs within one hour of the start of the symptoms.
That’s why it is so important to recognize the symptoms of a heart attack, Moran said,
Heart attacks usually happen while a person is at rest. A person may not feel a sharp pain but could feel heaviness in his chest and numbness in his arm or hand, or he may think he has indigestion.
“You could be watching TV and feel what you think is heartburn or indigestion,” Moran said. “You get up, take some Pepto. After a while it feels worse and you call the doctor. The doctor will probably advise you to call 911.”
“Thirty minutes have gone by then. It hurts worse and feels like someone is sitting on your chest. Each minute that goes by a part of your heart tissue is dying.”
It is better to call 911 for an ambulance than to drive yourself or have a family member drive to the hospital, Moran said.
Treatment begins when the emergency workers arrive. They take the patient’s blood pressure, check vitals, and give an EKG. If they find that a heart attack is happening, they put patient on oxygen, start an IV of fluid, give them an aspirin and a shot of nitroglycerin. The also alert the hospital about the patient on the way.
All this helps in the race against time.
“If you drive yourself, your (heart) tissue is dying on the way,” Moran warned.
As in the case of a heart attack, each minute counts during a stroke or, brain attack, as they are often called.
Brain cells begin to die within minutes after a stroke starts. A stroke occurs when a blood clot blocks a blood vessel or artery, or when a blood vessel breaks interrupting blood flow to an area of the brain
Stroke symptoms come on suddenly but are not always easy to recognize. A stroke victim reports the symptoms to heath-care professionals an average of 13 hours after the stroke begins, according to the National Stroke Association.
A person suffering from a stroke may have trouble walking, one side of their face may droop, and they may feel confused.
Other symptoms include dizziness, slurred speech, trouble seeing in one or both eyes, trouble walking, loss of balance and a severe headache.
Whenever a Moore County resident calls 911 from their home their name, address and phone number comes up on the telecommunicator’s screen. The dispatcher will ask questions about the emergency and medical history. At this point some callers will get exasperated.
“Some people get upset because the telecommunicator is asking all these questions and they just want an ambulance,” said Steady Meares, the director of emergency services for Moore County.
While the telecommunicator is asking questions, another dispatcher has already sent out an ambulance and other rescue personnel. It is important to stay on the phone because a dispatcher can talk the caller through the steps of CPR.
The more informed emergency workers are about the patient, the better they can help.
A way for residents to help inform the emergency workers is to have a list prepared detailing their medical history, medications they taking and allergies.
Tom Chance, of Southern Pines, who attended the workshop with his wife Shirley, held up a card-sized list. “I keep mine in my wallet,” Chance said.
Before an emergency happens, Moore County residents can call the 911 center and give dispatchers their medical history and other information so they will have the information on hand. Dispatchers will enter the information in the system and if the resident calls 911 in the future, that information will pop up on the screen as well.
Call the Moore County Department of Emergency Services to request this service at 947-2911.
Having a key hidden outside can also help when the door is locked and the caller is alone and can’t make it to the door. The caller can tell the dispatcher who will alert the emergency workers.
“We don’t like to bust down a door,” Moran said. “But we will if we have to.”
Cell phone technology still has a way to go before 911 centers can get an exact location of the caller. Callers may not reach the 911 center in their county when calling from a cell phone. It depends on where the tower is actually located. Meares said he’s called 911 from a cell in Moore County and reached Cumberland County’s 911 center.
Dispatchers can transfer the call quickly.
“It’s a one button transfer,” Meares said.
Some newer phones have a GPS system. In a year or two, cell phones will have the ability to provide 911 centers an exact location of the caller, Meares said.
If a 911 dispatcher answers a call and can’t understand the caller or the caller is too incapacitated to speak, they will send emergency workers to the residence. The same is true if they get a hang up and no answer when they return the call.
“We’ll send the world,” Moran said. “We have a motto, when in doubt, send it out.”
But Moran strongly stresses that if anyone is unsure or feels like they may need help, to call 911. Some people are hesitant to call.
“I don’t care what time it is,” Moran said. “3:00, 4:00 in the morning, it doesn’t matter.” “If we get there and check your vitals and you don’t want to go to the hospital, that’s fine, just call. We’re there for you anytime, that’s what we do. We don’t want to sit in the base all day, we want to get out there and help people.”
For more information about heart attacks, visit the American Heart Association's Web site at www.americanheart.org. For more information about strokes, visit the National Stroke Associa-tion Web site at www.stroke.org.
