Chest Pain Basic Training

Introduction Welcome to the basic training lesson on chest pain awareness. This course covers the importance of chest pain centers, including facts about heart disease, the importance of recognizing the signs and symptoms of heart attacks, preventing heart attacks, and the advantage of early diagnosis and intervention. This course will help you better understand and have awareness of the signs and symptoms of heart attacks that you may encounter in the workplace or in your personal life and the immediate actions you should take. Additionally, this course will provide you with the information needed to improve public health and your facility’s ability to improve quality of care by recognizing the signs and symptoms of heart attacks.

Course Objectives Upon successful completion of this course, you will be able to: Define a Primary Chest Pain Center Recognize the signs and symptoms of a heart attack Describe actions to take when you encounter a person with signs of a heart attack Identify the major risk factors of heart attacks

Primary Chest Pain Center What is a Primary Chest Pain Center? Being an accredited and certified Chest Pain Center means that the hospital has proven its ability to diagnose and treat chest pain patients according to national standards and guidelines to improve outcomes. A Chest Pain Center also works with the community toward preventing heart attacks. Several of AMITA Health’s acute care hospitals achieved the accreditation from The Society for Cardiovascular Patient Care.

Early Heart Attack Care (EHAC) Detecting Early Warning Signs Heart Attack deaths kill 800,000 people per year in the U.S., but we can cut that number by 50% if people will learn the signs and symptoms of Early Heart Attack Care (EHAC). Heart attack symptoms can begin about two weeks prior to a major event. This is the window of opportunity to prevent death and minimize heart damage. If you suspect someone is having a heart attack, get them to medical care as soon as possible.

Early Heart Attack Care (EHAC) Detecting Early Warning Signs The following are common heart attacks signs and symptoms that you should be aware of: Chest discomfort can be felt in the center of the chest and last for a few minutes or it may go away and return. The discomfort may feel like pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain. Discomfort in other areas such as both arms, back, neck, jaw, and stomach pain Shortness of breath may accompany or occur before chest discomfort Symptoms may include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness Symptoms also may include fatigue and anxiety

Women and the Elderly More women in the United States die of heart disease each year than men. Women and the elderly often experience signs and symptoms that are different from those that men experience; this is because smaller arteries may be blocked in women and the elderly whereas men often have blockage in the main arteries. As with men, women's most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women and the elderly are somewhat more likely than men to experience some other common symptoms without chest pain, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain.

Women and the Elderly Signs of a heart attack in women and the elderly include: Pressure, fullness and squeezing pain in center of chest spreading to neck, shoulder or jaw Lightheadedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or shortness of breath – with or without chest discomfort Lower chest discomfort Back pain Unusual fatigue Unusual shortness of breath Dizziness Nausea

Muscle Damage It is important to note that 85% of muscle damage takes place within the first hour of symptom onset. It is within this timeframe that the heart vessel needs to be opened. If time is lost and the vessel is opened after the timeframe, the benefits are much less. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that action be taken early. Thus the term, “Time is Muscle.” This is truly an emergency.

Chest Pain Response What Should I Do? When off site of the Hospital: Offer to help Call 911 Refusing to call 911? Offer to drive them in a car, you would rather them get help than not go at all Be personal and persistent — don’t walk away! If all else fails, take charge and be aggressive about getting a victim to the hospital When in the Hospital: Call your facility’s code for chest pain emergencies (e.g., Code Rapid Response, Medical Emergency Team (MET), etc.) Place the person in a wheelchair and take him/her to the Emergency Room Everyone (all employees, physicians, professional office building tenants, patients, families, visitors, volunteers, students, etc.) should be aware of how to access emergency assistance if they encounter a person who shows any signs of chest pain.

Major Risk Factors Perhaps the only thing more important than early recognition of the signs of a heart attack is preventing one from happening. The following risk factors have been linked to a higher incidence of heart attack and should be addressed and eliminated: Smoking Lack of exercise Obesity Elevated cholesterol Stress High blood pressure Diabetes If you or someone you care about struggles with any of these risks, talk to your doctor. Follow your doctor’s advice to manage risks with healthy behavior changes and medicine Eat a heart-healthy diet — low in fat and salt Exercise — walking for 30 minutes each day is perfect

You have completed the Chest Pain Basic Training course.