Warning Signs & Symptoms
If you suspect either of these emergencies is occurring DIAL 911 IMMEDIATELY. Every minute saved can enhance the patient’s outcome.
For Heart Attacks
- Uncomfortable pain, pressure, a squeezing sensation or stabbing pain in the chest that lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back
- Pain radiating to shoulder, neck, arm or jaw
- Pounding heart or change in heart rhythm
- Difficulty breathing
- Nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain
- Cold sweats or clammy skin
- Dizziness
- A feeling of anxiety or panic
- Heartburn
A woman’s symptoms of heart attack can be very different from a man’s. They may be more likely to experience:
- Feeling of breathlessness, often without chest pain of any kind
- An “unusual” feeling or mild discomfort in the chest or back
- A burning sensation in the chest, often mistaken as heartburn
- Pain or tingling in upper back, shoulders, neck or jaw
- Flu-like symptoms – specifically nausea, clamminess, body aches or cold sweats
- Unexplained and sudden onset of fatigue, weakness or dizziness
- Feelings of anxiety
Warning Signs & Symptoms for Strokes
- Sudden weakness or numbness of the face, arm or leg on one side of the body.
- Tremors or shaking on one side of the body.
- Sudden dimness or loss of vision, particularly in just one eye.
- Loss of speech, or trouble talking or understanding speech.
- Sudden, severe, unexplained headaches.
- Unexplained dizziness, unsteadiness or sudden falls, especially with any of the previous symptoms.
Stroke Symptoms can be difficult to identify. Physicians recommend asking three simple questions:
- Ask the individual to smile.
- Ask him or her to raise both arms.
- Ask the person to speak a simple sentence.
If the patient has trouble with any of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.