I’ve had a few words on medical issues in the past weeks and thought I ought to be mindful of the most common and dangerous health challenge older adults may face. Heart attacks occur in about 1.1 million adults every year and 45 % of those are fatal. Most of the fatalities occur in the first hour, and before reaching treatment. It’s in everyone’s best interest if the person having a heart attack goes to the ER right away. The early symptoms are Chest Pain and discomfort, the pain or discomfort may spread to other areas like the arms, shoulder, back, jaw or stomach. Sweating, nausea and dizziness are frequent. One factor that confuses things is the difference in women’s symptoms. The pain may be different, there are more often the other signs with women. If these last more than just a few minutes, call the EMS (911). Your family will do much better if you get early intervention. Waiting may allow cardiac arrest to occur.
It’s a good idea to hang around people who know CPR and if you aren’t confident in the folks around you, know that any CPR is better than none. If you have a chance to learn how to use those new defibrillators (AED) it’s a good idea to do so. You know what to do to prevent a heart attack, first- choose the right parents. Next – don’t start smoking. If you didn’t already do these things, it’s never too late to improve you cardiovascular status. Especially if you still smoke, it costs too much, smells too bad and people like me nag you too much. Your cells start to recover on day one so every time you make an effort, it helps, and you get better at it each time so soon you’ll quit for good. I did it so I know you can too.