Signs of a heart emergency: recognize and react quickly in Tangier

Face to heart, every minute counts. signs of a heart emergency, chest pain, sudden breathlessness, feeling faint or unusual palpitations, can quite literally save a life, yours or someone close to you. Yet many people hesitate, play it down, or wait for it to pass. This article, written by Dr Tber, cardiovascular surgeon in Tangier, helps you spot the warning signs and know what to do, without panicking but without ever losing time.

What are the signs of a heart emergency?

A serious heart problem can announce itself suddenly and forcefully, or start quietly and then worsen. It matters to know the full range of symptoms, because they do not always come down to the classic chest pain.

• Chest pain or discomfort : a sense of pressure, tightness, a vice-like grip, heaviness or burning in the centre of the chest, lasting more than a few minutes, or going away and coming back.
• Pain that irradiates : into one arm (often the left) or both, the shoulder, the back, the neck, the jaw, the teeth or the upper abdomen.
• Severe shortness of breath : difficulty breathing, at rest or on exertion, with or without chest pain.
• Malaise and associated signs : cold sweats, clammy skin, nausea or vomiting, dizziness, light-headedness or the feeling that you are about to faint.
• Palpitations : a racing heart, an irregular beat, or a heart that seems to skip beats, above all if it comes with feeling faint, breathlessness or pain.

These symptoms are neglected too often

Some warnings are more deceptive than others. A heart attack can happen without marked chest pain: this is sometimes called a silent heart attack, where all you get is breathlessness, unusual tiredness, nausea or sweating.

Women: sometimes different signals

Chest pain remains the commonest symptom in women as in men, but women more often get so-called atypical signs: breathlessness, pain in the neck, jaw, back or shoulders, nausea and vomiting. Because these are vague, they too often delay the call for help, when they deserve exactly the same vigilance.

Elderly and diabetics

In older people and in those with diabetes, the pain may be muted or absent altogether. Sudden exhaustion, confusion or simple breathlessness should then put you on alert.

Heart attack or cardiac arrest: understanding the difference

These two are often confused, yet they do not share the same mechanism or the same immediate response. Telling them apart helps you react correctly.

An untreated heart attack can turn into a cardiac arrest. That is why you must never sit on warning signs.

Good reflexes in the face of signs of a heart emergency

Doing the right things in the first seconds markedly improves the chances of recovery and limits the damage to the heart.

• Call the emergency services immediately in Morocco: 15 (SAMU, medical ambulance) or 150 (Civil Protection). 141 (Allo SAMU) can also point you in the right direction. Do not wait for the symptoms to pass.
• Don't drive yourself. and do not ask a relative to drive you if the situation is worrying: an ambulance can start treatment on the way.
• Get down to rest, sitting up or half-sitting, loosen tight clothing and stay calm until help arrives.
• In case of loss of consciousness and not breathing: call the emergency services and start chest compressions (firm, steady pushes on the centre of the chest); use an automated external defibrillator (AED) if there is one nearby.
• Do not take any medicines on your own initiative without medical advice, other than treatment already prescribed by your doctor.

When to call the emergency room without waiting

The rule is simple: if in doubt, call. A false alarm is better than a heart attack treated too late. Contact the emergency services without delay if you or someone nearby has:

• chest pain that lasts more than a few minutes or comes back;
• brutal and unusual shortness of breath;
• malaise with sweat, nausea or fainting;
• palpitations associated with discomfort, dizziness or pain;
• loss of consciousness, especially if breathing is absent or abnormal.

Time is muscle: the sooner treatment starts, the less irreversible damage the heart takes.

Anticipating: Watching your heart outside the emergency

Recognising an emergency is vital, and so is preventing one. Regular cardiovascular follow-up picks up risk factors in time (high blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, smoking) along with certain heart and vessel conditions. Depending on where you stand, specialist care may be offered, from medical follow-up through to open heart surgery, in Coronary bypass, in surgery of theaorta, to the techniques of Minimally invasive surgery or to the carotid surgery. You can discover all the supported items on the page the practice's expertise.

If you have risk factors, or symptoms that worry you outside any emergency, a cardiovascular check-up lets you assess your heart calmly and act before things become critical.

If life is at risk, do not wait: call the emergency services immediately (15 or 150). For a check-up, a specialist opinion or cardiovascular follow-up, Dr Tber's practice in Tangier is open to you and reachable around the clock. Make an appointment now to protect your heart, it's already a good first reflex.