Call 9-1-1 at the first signs of a heart attack

At the first signs of a heart attack, Campbell County Health Emergency Medical Services encourages you to call 9-1-1.

For those who don't know, the classic sign of a heart attack is a sharp pain in your chest radiating to your left arm; however, there are many other warning signs, including:

• Pressure, tightness, pain, or a squeezing or aching sensation in your chest or arms that may spread to your neck, jaw or back.
• Nausea, indigestion, heartburn or abdominal pain.
• Shortness of breath.
• Cold sweat.

In treating heart attacks, doctors (and our EMS pros) often use the phrase time is muscle. Heart attacks are caused by blockages of the coronary arteries, which pump blood throughout the body. If an artery is clogged or blocked, the muscles are starved of blood. The longer a patient experiences heart attack symptoms, the more heart tissue dies.

CCH has reduced the time needed to save patients having heart attacks with its Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory (Cath Lab). The Cath Lab allows cardiologists to save the muscles in the heart by inserting a stent (a tiny, wire mesh tube that props open an artery, restoring blood flow) to help patients survive.

While taking you to Campbell County Memorial Hospital, our EMS pros can hook patient's up to an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine and send your results to a cardiologist immediately. When patients arrive at the hospital, they are then transferred directly to the Cath Lab.

Campbell County Health EMS wants to you remember: when in doubt, dial 911 for help! Learn more about EMS in Campbell County, Wyoming at www.cchwyo.org/ems.