NEWS RELEASE

(Speedy Calls to 9-1-1 Save Lives)

Few people will hesitate to call 9-1-1 when they discover fire in their home. Yet, many people will wait hours or even days to call for help when they experience chest pains or shortness of breath which are typical symptoms of a heart attack. That delay can be deadly.

"The emergency medical profession knows the phrase Time is muscle," said Paul LeSage, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue’s EMS Division Chief, "That means the faster a person experiencing symptoms gets treatment, the more heart muscle will be saved and the better their chances of survival."

Louis Creten, 63, of Tehachapi, California had a first-hand experience recently while visiting his son near Aloha, Oregon. "I had been having numbness in my arm since Friday." That's when Creten departed on the 980-mile trip north. "By Sunday morning, the pain hadn't gone away and I began having some chest pressure," said Creten. That's when his family called 9-1-1. Crews from Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue arrived within minutes. As they began checking Creten's condition, his heart suddenly went into ventricular fibrillation. That's when the heart beats irregularly and little blood is pumped to vital organs. Without immediate electrical shock from the paramedic's defibrillator, Creten most likely would have died.

TVF&R firefighters responded to more than 14,400 medical and rescue calls last year and many of the heart attack patients they encountered had waited, in some cases, hours, to call

9-1-1 for help. "On some days, more than half of our cardiac patients will have suffered with mild to moderate symptoms for hours before deciding to call for medical aid," said Captain Allen Kennedy of TVF&R’s King City Fire Station.

Why do people wait? LeSage said there are several reasons. "For the elderly, it may be embarrassment. They may not want neighbors to see a big, red fire engine and an ambulance sitting in front of their home. For women ages 30 to 40, it may be that they can’t believe they are having cardiac ischemia, reduced blood flow to the heart, because their symptoms are mild." LeSage added they might rationalize the symptom and attribute their shortness of breath to an anxiety attack until the pain gets too great or their heart goes into cardiac arrest.

The American Heart Association lists the heart attack warning signs as:

• Uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest lasting more than a few minutes.
• Pain spreading to the shoulders, neck or arms.
• Chest discomfort with lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath.

Less common warning signs of heart attack are:

• Unusual chest pain, stomach or abdominal pain.
• Nausea or dizziness.
• Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.
• Unexplained anxiety, weakness or fatigue.
• Palpitations, cold sweat or paleness.

"Awareness of whether you are in a high risk category helps people accept the reality of a heart attack sooner," explains LeSage. "One major risk factor is a family history of coronary artery disease. Controllable risk factors are smoking, high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, high triglycerides, diabetes, excessive alcohol and caffeine intake, obesity, and a lack of proper exercise."

Louis Creten has the best advice. "Get to the doctor right away!" That means dial 9-1-1 when you first experience chest pains. Creten admits that if his heart attack had occurred while on his driving trip or the next day during his planned fishing trip, he would have died before help could arrive.

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