Recognising a heart attack and taking action

In short: In a heart attack, part of the heart muscle is no longer supplied with blood. Severe pain or pressure in the chest is typical; if you suspect one, call 112 (the emergency number in Germany and the EU) immediately.

In more detail: Usually a blood clot blocks a coronary artery. The sooner treatment starts, the less heart muscle is lost and the lower the risk of a life-threatening cardiac arrest.

In detail

• Key symptom: Pain, pressure or tightness in the chest that lasts longer than a few minutes and does not ease with rest.
• Spreading pain: The pain can spread to the arms, shoulder, neck, jaw, back or upper abdomen.
• Accompanying signs: Shortness of breath, cold sweat, pale skin, nausea, vomiting and intense anxiety are common.
• Less typical signs: Especially in women, older people and people with diabetes, shortness of breath, nausea or upper abdominal discomfort sometimes dominate instead of chest pain.
• Act immediately: Dial 112 without hesitation and say you suspect a heart attack; better to call once too often than too late (notruf-richtig-absetzen).
• Positioning: Let the person sit or lie comfortably with the upper body slightly raised and loosen tight clothing.
• Rest: Do not let the person walk around; reassure them and stay with them until the ambulance arrives.
• Medicines: Do not give any medicines on your own initiative; emergency medication prescribed to the person by a doctor may be used as instructed.
• Cardiac arrest: If the person becomes unconscious and is not breathing normally, start chest compressions at once and have someone fetch a defibrillator; a first-aid course practises exactly this (wiederbelebung-und-defibrillator-grundlagen, herz-und-kreislauf).