Watch Your "Own" Heart Attack

I came across a public service announcement (PSA) on You Tube about a year ago.  I believe it's from the  United Kingdom.  It reminds me of the PSA about drugs where the egg is frying in the pan ("...this is your brain on drugs").  


Okay, back to the dramatization at hand; it answers the question that people ask, 'What did it feel like?'.  If you want to know, watch this video.  My main symptoms were different:  I did not have any chest pain.  I had tightness and pain in my shoulder blades/upper back.  This is a symptom usually associated with female heart attack patients.  


The day I went to the emergency room I used the search engine Google to look up the words 'heart attack symptoms' because I knew something wasn't right within my body.  After that, recalling commercials for aspirin, I found an old bottle in my medicine cabinet.  Just as the commercials suggested, I opened it, and took a dosage.  I decided that it couldn't hurt anything and now that I had read the list of symptoms, if I had any others I would go to the hospital.  Before I knew it I was making the next decision to call 911 for an ambulance.  The actor in the PSA below is correct:  every second counts.  Why take the chance of dying?  Nobody knows your body better than yourself.


The ambulance personnel didn't think anything of it when I told them I thought I was having a heart attack.  When I was taken into the emergency room I was left in a hallway on the gurney from the ambulance.  I didn't remember much of the ride from my home to the hospital, but as I lay there on my back, I still new something was wrong.  I started asking for someone to help me, continuing to state that I thought I was having a heart attack.  A couple of staff looked at me like I was crazy.  I can't blame them, I was only thirty-three.  I wasn't about to stop asking for help though, so I was moved into a room and set up with an EKG monitor.  Within minutes the room was full with personnel; I knew I was correct when I saw a man dressed in golfing attire enter.  He calmly told me that I was having a heart attack.

I encourage everyone to not only watch this clip, but familiarize yourself with the symptoms for heart attack/stroke (differences between male and female).  Likewise, discuss with your primary care physician ways to prevent blood clots, stroke and heart attack.  For example,  a physician might recommend taking a specific dosage of aspirin daily depending on your age and other factors.  


WARNING:  This video may be upsetting for stroke/heart attack survivors and loved one's.  Please only watch if you want to know more about symptoms (otherwise refer to other sources such as the American Heart Association or a physician).

Thank You!

Forty-five days into fundraising for the 2009 Santa Barbara North County Start! Heart Walk and there are so many caring people who I am grateful to for their generosity and thoughtfulness!!!  Thanks to all of you, as of today, the total amount is $1021.00!  Only a couple of more weeks until the walk! 

Thank you, to all of J's co-workers (when I say co-workers, I actually mean friends!) and to all family members, for all of your support; not only now, but throughout this last year. 

S

American Heart Association Fundraising Webpage: Why!?

I survived a heart attack on July 12, 2008 caused by a blood clot that formed in my heart. As a result of my experience, I have learned that heart disease is the #1 KILLER for WOMEN. While my heart attack was considered a random occurance, my wish is that we will all lead healthy lives and learn the warning signs for heart attack, as it is frequently misdiagnosed in women resulting in death. I am getting involved by participating in two American Heart Association's (AHA) Start! Heart Walk's. The first walk is in September located in Santa Maria, California. The second walk is in October in San Luis Obispo, California.

Please support this cause by making a donation in any amount you are able, that will help provide cardiac research and education to stop our No. 1 (female) and No. 3 (male) killers.

1. Donation(s) are tax deductible (now there's a silver lining!)
2. Your employer might match donations; find out here: http://www.matchinggifts.com/aha/

I have fundraised in the past (for Special Olympics, collecting donations and running) however, surviving a heart attack and now being able to participate with the AHA in a Heart Walk is an amazing feeling. I'm obviously not the only person affected by cardiovascular problems, I, like many others, know so many people who are all too familiar with heart disease.

If you haven't heard my personal story and you want to hear it, just ask me. Knowing the signs could save a life!

Thank you for taking the time to read this information!

* I have declined any prizes associated with funds raised for participating in either walk.

Heart Attack vs. Cardiac Arrest

Heart attack vs. cardiac arrest: Reports indicating a Michael Jackson cardiac arrest generated much interest in the difference between sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and a heart attack.

According to the American Medical Association (AMA), a heart attack occurs when the blood supply to part of the heart muscle itself — the myocardium — is severely reduced or stopped. The reduction or stoppage happens when one or more of the coronary arteries supplying blood to the heart muscle is blocked. This is usually caused by the buildup of plaque (deposits of fat-like substances), a process called atherosclerosis. The plaque can eventually burst, tear or rupture, creating a "snag" where a blood clot forms and blocks the artery. This leads to a heart attack.

If the blood supply is cut off for more than a few minutes, muscle cells suffer permanent injury and die. This can kill or disable someone, depending on how much heart muscle is damaged.

Sometimes a coronary artery temporarily contracts or goes into spasm. When this happens the artery narrows and blood flow to part of the heart muscle decreases or stops. We're not sure what causes a spasm. A spasm can occur in normal-appearing blood vessels as well as in vessels partly blocked by atherosclerosis. A severe spasm can cause a heart attack.

The medical term for heart attack is myocardial infarction. A heart attack is also sometimes called a coronary thrombosis or coronary occlusion.

The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association has an excellent cardiac arrest fact sheet available for download. They write,

"Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a leading cause of death in the U.S., killing nearly 300,000 people each year. That’s more than the total death rate for breast cancer, lung cancer, and HIV/AIDS combined. SCA can strike persons of any age, gender, race, and even those who seem in good health, as evidenced by world class professional athletes at the peak of fitness.

During SCA, heart function ceases abruptly and without warning.

When this occurs, the heart is no longer able to pump blood to the rest of the body, and in over 90% of victims, death occurs. This is usually caused when the electrical impulses in the affected heart become rapid (ventricular tachycardia, or “VT”) or chaotic (ventricular fibrillation, or “VF”), or both.

These irregular heart rhythms are arrhythmias. The general public and media often mistakenly refer to SCA as a “massive heart attack.”

SCA is an electrical problem, whereby the arrhythmia prevents the heart from pumping blood to the brain and vital organs. There is an immediate cessation of the heart. In most cases, there are no warning signs or symptoms.

A heart attack is a “plumbing” problem caused by one or more blockages in the heart’s blood vessels, preventing proper flow, and the heart muscle dies. Symptoms include chest pain, radiating pain in left arm, between shoulder blades, and/or jaw, difficulty breathing, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, and sweating. In some cases, a heart attack may lead to a sudden cardiac arrest event."

Media interest in cardiac arrest
The day after Michael Jackson's presumed sudden cardiac arrest death, cardiac arrest was discussed in all the major media, a (very slight) silver lining to Michael Jackson's tragic end, since sudden cardiac arrest awareness is frightfully low and publicly accessible defibrillation is also low.

The LA Times noted, "The L.A. County coroner’s office will determine a cause of death. A Los Angeles Fire Department source told The Times that Jackson was in full cardiac arrest when rescue units arrived."

USA Today wrote,
Q. What might have happened in Jackson's case?

A: Jackson most likely had ventricular fibrillation, an electrical disturbance of the heart that occurs when the heart begins beating 400 to 500 times a minute — much more than the normal 70 to 75 beats, says Douglas Zipes, emeritus professor at Indiana University School of Medicine and former president of the American College of Cardiology.

"When you look at the heart in ventricular fibrillation, it looks like a bag of squiggly worms," Zipes says. "The contractions are totally ineffective. ... Therefore, no blood is pumped to the brain, causing him to black out.

"The heart's pacemaker is the sinus node," Zipes says. "It is the conductor of the orchestra, coordinating the heart's electrical rhythm. When all the instruments are playing in a coordinated manner, the result is music. In ventricular fibrillation, it's as if the orchestra is warming up and what you hear is cacophony."

Q: What can you do for someone in cardiac arrest?

A: Sudden cardiac death occurs within minutes unless someone gets the heart working again, either through CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) or with adefibrillator, which uses an electrical shock to get the heart pumping correctly.

Brain death begins in just four to six minutes, so restarting the heart quickly is vital, the American Heart Association says.

CPR can buy patients time until they can be shocked with a defibrillator, says Abhi Mehrotra, assistant professor of emergency medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill. By compressing the chest, rescuers circulate blood and get oxygen to vital organs such as the brain.

A victim's chances of survival go down 7% to 10% every minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation. Few people are revived after 10 minutes, the American Heart Association says.

Resuscitation from SCA
The Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association writes, "When someone collapses from SCA, immediate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use of an automated external defibrillator (AED) are essential for any chance of recovery. As many as 30 to 50 percent would likely survive if CPR and AEDs were used within five minutes of collapse.

The AED analyzes the heart rhythm of the victim, and if necessary, a computerized command will instruct the user to press a button to deliver an appropriate shock to restore the normal operation of the heart. [The Powerheart AED G3 Plus Fully Automatic does not require a button press to deliver the shock; the AED delivers the shock automatically.]

These devices are failsafe and will not cause injury to the user, nor will they deliver a shock if none is needed. For patients in “VF”, studies show that if early defibrillation is provided within the first minute, the odds are 90 percent that the victim’s life can be saved. After that, the rate of survival drops ten percent with every minute.


Related Products

• Powerheart AED G3 Plus
• Powerheart AED G3 Fully Automatic and Semi-automatic
• Powerheart AED G3 Pro
• Powerheart AED G3 Trainer
• AED Program Management

Research Grant from American Heart Association

UT Southwestern earns grant from American Heart Association for Cardiac Myogenesis Research Center

DALLAS – July 20, 2009 UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers Drs. Jay Schneider, Joseph Hill and Eric Olson have been awarded a $2 million grant from the American Heart Association to study the development and mechanisms of generating new cardiac muscle cells. UT Southwestern was one of only three institutions in the country to receive the highly competitive award, which will establish an American Heart Association-Jon Holden DeHaan Foundation Cardiac Myogenesis Research Center. Each center will conduct a number of basic science research projects to learn more about how cardiac muscle cells develop and work together. The AHA grant provides funding through 2012. "Our grant submission involved a small-molecule drug that we discovered by screening the UT Southwestern chemical library with cardiac stem cells," said Dr. Schneider, assistant professor of internal medicine. "Original studies of that drug were done in cultured stem cells, but we have now shown that it actually works as a drug in the adult heart by targeting a rare population of native cardiac stem cells and by activating muscle genes in these cells." Dr. Hill, chief of cardiology, said the finding could lead to treatments that activate stem cells within the heart to emerge as functional muscle cells. "We are hopeful that opportunities presented to our researchers through the funding provided by this grant will lead to improved outcomes for heart attack and heart failure patients," he said. The UT Southwestern researchers said their investigations could significantly help advance the understanding of stem cells' role in heart disease and repair, leading to new ways to care for patients with heart attacks or congestive heart failure by stimulating heart cell regeneration. "The goal is to use small molecules and microRNAs (ribonucleic acids) as probes to understand the mechanistic barriers that prevent the human heart from repairing itself after injury," said Dr. Schneider. "By doing so, we hope to develop new therapeutics based on small molecules and microRNAs that will overcome these barriers and induce the human heart to regenerate after injury." Dr. Olson, chairman of molecular biology and director of the Nancy B. and Jake L. Hamon Center for Basic Research in Cancer and the Nearburg Family Center for Basic and Clinical Research in Pediatric Oncology, said the award will unite researchers from several fields to attack the problem. For instance, Dr. Schneider worked collaboratively with Dr. Steven McKnight, chairman of biochemistry at UT Southwestern, during the initial research for the grant proposal. "This grant from the AHA will enable us to translate basic discoveries in the laboratory into new therapeutic approaches for improving function of the failing heart. We intend to take an interdisciplinary approach and draw from the expertise of basic scientists and clinicians to achieve this goal," Dr. Olson said. His research focuses on genes that control development of the heart in embryos, and how those genes can help repair damaged adult hearts. Other Cardiac Myogenesis Research Centers receiving the grant are the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Minnesota. The Jon Holden DeHaan Foundation of Naples, Fla., has a long history of funding AHA cardiovascular research and cumulatively has contributed almost $5 million for this purpose. The American Heart Association-Jon Holden DeHaan Foundation Cardiac Myogenesis Research Center Program is the most ambitious partnership undertaken by the two organizations. Visit http://www.utsouthwestern.org/heartlungvascular to learn more about UT Southwestern's heart, lung, and vascular clinical services. This news release is available on our World Wide Web home page at www.utsouthwestern.edu/home/news/index