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First aid for infarction not only helps to save the person's life but also prevents the onset of sequelae, such as heart failure or arrhythmias. Ideally, first aid should include recognizing the symptoms, calming and making the victim comfortable, and calling an ambulance, calling SAMU 192 as soon as possible.
Infarction can affect any apparently healthy person, but it is more frequent in the elderly or people who have untreated chronic diseases, such as high cholesterol, diabetes or high blood pressure, for example.
When a heart attack is suspected, the following steps should be taken:
1. Recognize the symptoms
A person who suffers from an acute myocardial infarction usually has the following symptoms:
- Severe chest pain, like burning or tightness;
- Pain that can radiate to the arms or the jaw;
- Pain that lasts for more than 15 minutes without improving;
- Feeling of shortness of breath;
- Palpitations;
- Cold sweats;
- Nausea and vomiting.
In addition, there may still be severe dizziness and fainting. Check out a more complete list of heart attack symptoms and how to recognize them.
2. Call for medical help
After identifying the symptoms of a heart attack, it is recommended to immediately call for medical help by calling SAMU 192, or a private mobile service.
3. Calm the victim
In the presence of symptoms, the person may be very anxious or agitated, which can worsen the symptoms and the severity of the condition. Therefore, it is important to try to remain calm and help the person relax until the medical team arrives. For this, you can do the exercise of breathing deeply and calmly, counting to 5 when you inhale or exhale.
In addition, it is also important to avoid the accumulation of people around the victim, as this in addition to decreasing the amount of available oxygen also causes increased stress.
4. Unscrew tight clothing
While the person tries to relax, it is recommended to loosen the tightest clothes and accessories, such as belts or shirts as this facilitates breathing and also helps to keep the person more comfortable.
5. Offer 300 mg of aspirin
Offering 300 mg of aspirin helps to thin the blood and can help reduce symptoms until medical help arrives. Aspirin is recommended in cases where the person has never had a heart attack before and does not have an allergy. Therefore, they should only be offered to people who know their health history.
In cases where the person has a history of another previous heart attack, the cardiologist may have prescribed a nitrate pill, such as Monocordil or Isordil, to be used in emergencies. Therefore, aspirin should be replaced with this tablet.
6. Watch your breathing and heartbeat
Until the arrival of the medical team it is very important to maintain a regular assessment of breathing and heart rate, to ensure that the person is still conscious.
What to do if the person passes out or stops breathing?
If the victim passes out, he should be left lying in a comfortable position, with his belly up or on his side, always checking for the presence of heartbeat and breathing.
If the person stops breathing, cardiac massage should be started immediately until the ambulance arrives or until the heart beats again. Check out the step-by-step instructions on how to do cardiac massage by watching this video:
People who have a heart attack are also at increased risk of developing a stroke, especially people who are hypertensive, diabetic, who have high cholesterol or who smoke, and some of the symptoms they may experience in this case are weakness in a winged body or face or difficulty in speak, for example. Also, check the first aid for stroke.